


No matter what, I love you!

by Ashisa



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, F/F, Fluff, Love, Motherland:Fort Salem AU, Soulmates, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 54,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24238396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashisa/pseuds/Ashisa
Summary: Every Human has a Soulmate who completes them.They are bound to find each other at one Point in their lives and when they do everything changes. When someone meets their Soulmate, their Hearts begin to beat, and they start to see the world in color and not only in black and white as long as they are near each other.Raelle Collar never believed in that whole Soulmate thing. Especially not after life took the most important person from her. Raelle started to change after losing her Mother. She got cold and cared about nothing anymore, not even her own life. She decided to take the path her mother had and joined the FBI.She was determined to become the best Agent the world would ever see. She wanted to hunt down every criminal and make the world a little bit safer so nobody would have to suffer like she did.After Years of Training she graduated as the best one.Everybody was afraid of her. She was known for being cold, merciless and fearless.Raelle wasn’t afraid of dying because she had no reason to life.Until one Day when everything changed for her and she started to feel her Heart beating in her Chest and the World began to look colorful.
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 44
Kudos: 296





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> so I thought I give it a shot and write something about our beloved Raylla. 
> 
> I apologize for all the mistakes that you will find. English is not my native language so please bear with me. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading my Story!
> 
> Feel free to leave me some comments and kudos if you like my story. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think :)

Chapter 1

Raelle woke up screaming, covered in sweat and breathing heavy. She pulled back her blanket and stood up hurriedly. She glanced at her Alarm clock at the Nightstand and sighted in frustration. It was three in the Morning and she was awake because of another stupid Nightmare haunting her. She had slept less than two hours and she could still feel the exhaustion, but she knew that she wasn’t able to sleep again even if she tried. She took her phone, collected a few clothes and headed to her bathroom. She needed to take a shower and get rid of all the sweat caused by her nightmare. She played some Music on her phone, took off her clothes and turned on the shower. She welcomed the burning feeling from the hot water that run down her Body and started to relax a little bit.  
Raelle took her time to calm down and sort her thoughts before she turned off the shower and stepped out. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body.  
For the first time since she woke up and went to the Bathroom, she allowed herself to look in the Mirror. What she saw was a blonde woman with blue eyes, dark circles under them, and a large scare on her left side of the face looking extremely exhausted and tired back at her. She stood there a few more seconds looking at herself before she turned her gaze away and started to get ready. If she was awake at such an unholy time, then she could at least clean her apartment a little bit. That is something she really needed to do.  
As soon as she’s fully clothed, she starts to clean the bathroom which turns out to be the fastest room to clean. 

After two hours she lets herself fall on her couch in the living room. She really should have done that sooner the blonde woman thought to herself.  
It was now almost six in the morning and the sun started to rise slowly. Raelle loved that time of day. She loved watching the sun rise. Before she could stop herself, she began to think what it would look like to see that in color. She read a lot about it. How people who found their Soulmate described the moment when the sun started to rise, and the heaven started to turn into all these beautiful colors. She always was a little bit jealous of the people who found their Soulmate and were able to see that in color. Raelle couldn’t get enough of this sight even when its only in black and white. Before the young woman could get lost even more in her thoughts, she shook her head and stood up. Turning her back to the window and away from the rising sun. She needed to stop thinking about that. She would never see that in color. Hell, she didn’t believe in that whole Soulmate thing anyway. She would never see colors or feel her heart beating in her chest. It was ridiculous to think about that. So, she just stopped thinking about it. Raelle pulled her walls back up, as high as she possibly could, and collected everything she needed for work. It wasn’t much to be honest. She just grabbed her Badge, her gun, her phone and her keys. Before she left the apartment, she put on her shoes and grabbed a Jacket. She looked over her shoulder, checking the Apartment one last time, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, before she stepped out and closed the door behind her. 

Raelle was surprised that she only had to give her death stare to three other drivers. Usually she threw that look to at least ten other people while she was driving to work but today seemed to start peaceful. She had to admit that it was a little bit weird to start a day without her usual amount of death stares, but she would take it. She knew that her day definitely wouldn’t stay that peaceful. 

As soon as she arrived at the Office she walked straight to her desk and sat down. She needed to finish the paperwork from her last case, which is something she hated. She decided to become an Agent to hunt down criminal assholes and not for that stupid paperwork she had to do every time after she took one criminal down and closed a case.  
After an hour she signed the last paper and put the file, who was now officially done, to the side. Raelle was about to get up and get herself a coffee when her boss, Anacostia Quartermaine, stepped out of her office and started heading her way. The young woman stood up quickly and looked expectantly at her boss. 

“Collar, today you will get a new team. They will be here in a few minutes” Quartermaine said coldly.  
Raelle could feel anger boiling up inside of her. The other woman knew exactly that Raelle didn’t want to have a team. That she wanted to work alone. She clenched her hands to fists, so strong that her knuckles turned white. With a clenched jaw the blonde women began to speak “With all due respect Ma´am but I work alone. I don’t need and I certainly don’t WANT a team and you know that exactly.”  
“Agent Collar it wasn’t a request. It was an order and you WILL follow it, or I will make life very difficult for you am I clear agent?!” Quartermaine said. 

It took Raelle every ounce of self-control to not punch that women in her face. Before she answered her, she took a deep breath and then said with ice cold voice,  
“Yes Ma´am”  
Quartermaine smiled triumphantly and clapped her hands together. Before one of them could say another word the doors from the elevator opened and two women, around the same age as Raelle, walked out of it. They looked through the room, searching, but as soon as they saw Raelles boss they headed their way.  
Quartermaine greeted them and talked for a second with the both women before she turned back around to Raelle and said  
“Agent Collar these are Tally Craven and Abigail Bellweather. Your new team.” Anacostia fixed Raelle with a hard look before her attention got taken away by her ringing phone. Her boss quickly answered it, stepping away from the three young women and leaving them alone.  
Raelle let her gaze linger a little bit longer on her boss until she heard someone speak. She looked back at the two women who stood before her and looked at them cold.  
One of them was smiling kindly at her and held out her hand for Raelle.  
“Hey I´m Tally. It´s nice to meet you!”  
Raelle couldn’t help but look skeptically at her. After a few seconds she took the Hand from the other woman and shook it quickly.  
“Raelle Collar” was all she said.  
“You are Raelle Collar? Imagined you were taller...” the other one said.  
“And you are...?” Raelle asked the other women.  
“Bellweather. Abigail Bellweather. I heard a lot about you Collar. You were the best one in you class.” Abigail answered.  
“Listen, this whole team thing wasn’t my idea. I work alone and I really didn’t want a team. I don’t need People who are holding me back and get in my way. Just never try to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do and leave me alone, then we will get along pretty good. Got it?” Raelle said to the both of them.  
Before one of them could say another thing Quartermaine got back to them.  
“I guess that was enough time to get to know each other. There is a new case and I’m putting you on it!” Anacostia said to the three of them.  
“Yes Ma´am.” Raelle said before storming off without looking back for her new team.

A few weeks after being forced to work in a team Raelle started to accept it. She even started to be a little bit nicer to Tally and Abigail.  
It was easier for Raelle to connect with Tally than Abigail but after some more time and a few visits at the bar together as a team after work, which was Tally’s idea of course, even Abigail and Raelle started to become some kind of friends. That led to Quartermaine noticing the change in their group dynamic. She was pleased to see that the three young women put aside their differences because without a doubt they were the best team that she ever had.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the Kudos, Hits and Bookmarks so far. I really appreciate it!! 
> 
> Here is Chapter 2 for you. 
> 
> I hope you like it and feel free to leave a comment, tell me what you think. :)

Chapter 2

It was almost a normal morning for Raelle. She woke up early because of a nightmare, distracted herself until she had to go to work and left her apartment. The only difference to the other mornings was that Raelle wasn’t feeling well at all. Not physically but more like psychically. Her nightmare had taken a tool on her. It affected her more than usual which was due to the approaching anniversary of her Mother’s death. She knew she couldn’t do anything against it, so she just welcomed the pain and tried to don’t let it affect her work. She parked her car in the parking lot reserved for her, got out and made her way to the elevators. She stepped in them and waited for the doors to close. Before they could Raelle heard someone call her name.  
“Rae hold open the doors please!”   
Raelle immediately put her hands between the closing doors and held them open. A few seconds later an out of breath Tally appeared before Raelle and stepped into the Elevator.   
“Thanks, Raelle” Tally said with a soft smile on her lips which fell as soon as she looked at her friend and saw that she looked not good at all.   
“Hey, is everything okay Rae? You don’t look that good today…” Tally said with worry in her voice.   
“Everything is okay, Tally. Don’t worry about it. I just haven’t been sleeping well last night.” Raelle said and tried to smile at her friend reassuringly.   
Tally didn’t look convinced at all but to Raelles surprise didn’t say another thing about that topic. 

As soon as the doors opened, they stepped out of the Elevator together. They both headed to their desks, sat down in silence and started to work.   
Raelle could feel Tally looking at her, watching and studying her and even if that started to get one her nerves, she appreciated that Tally did just that and didn’t tried to talk to her about it. Raelle really wasn’t in the mood of talking today. She just wanted the day to go by as quickly as it could so she could go home again, lay in her bed and just be alone. 

“You look like shit today Collar!” Abigail said as she sat down at her desk.  
“Good Morning to you too Bellweather” Raelle said shooting her an annoyed look.   
“Abigail you can´t just say something like that!” Tally said scolding Abigail.   
“Why? It’s just the truth. She does look like shit today.” Abigail said again.  
“Abigail just stop!” Tally said with anger in her voice. 

Abigail held her hands up in surrender before she started to focus on her work. The three women worked side by side in complete silence. After an hour Raelle couldn’t focus anymore so she got up and went outside to get some fresh air. She really wasn’t feeling well, and it got worse, but she had to pull herself together. She wouldn’t let that affect her work.   
After about five Minutes she was ready to get back inside. She had gained her composure again and was ready to continue her work. Not even ten seconds after she was back at her desk the Team was informed that there was a new Case that Quartermaine wanted them to solve. They were handed the Files and got a quick briefing before they were sent out to do their job. 

The FBI got an anonymous hint that there is going to be an attack from the terror group called The Spree. It wasn’t the first time that Raelle was working on a case that involved them. She did that even before she got her Team but meanwhile the Spree attacked more frequently, and they were getting more ruthless with every new attack.   
At the beginning they started out by letting bombs detonating at a few places in the city never hurting anyone in the process of it, but their path changed quickly. They started to not care about innocent people. At first, they killed only a few with their bombs making people believe that the lives they took were just collateral damage but with every new Attack the numbers of dead innocent people increased.   
After a few weeks the Spree got the attention they were seeking for and the People were frightened. They started to life their lives in fear. Not knowing what the new day would bring or if the Spree would attack again and if they would get even more ruthless.   
Raelle hated the fact that she wasn’t able to stop them. That she had made absolutely no progress at stopping them. 

On the way to the location where they got the hint that the next attack would take place Raelle couldn’t stop thinking how much she hated them and that she would do everything to stop them. She would not give up. Never. She would do everything to destroy that Group and stop them from killing innocent people. Enough people had suffered because of them. 

As soon as they got to their destination the three women quickly exited the Car.  
This time the Spree had decided that they would place a bomb in the middle of a Mall. They needed to stop that bomb from exploding because if they didn’t the number of deaths would be at an all time high. Raelle couldn’t let that happen and she knew that Tally and Abigail were on her side.

“Tally, Abigail the both of you go help the others to evacuate the People from the Mall. We need to get them out of there as fast as we can. We don’t know how much time we have until the Bomb goes off. Keep your eyes open for everything or everyone that seems suspicious. Got it?” Raelle asked.  
“What about you?” Tally asked her blonde Teammate.   
“I´m going to take a look at the bomb. Maybe I can figure out how much time we have left until it detonates, and, on my way, I will make sure to safe as many civilians as I can. I will let you know as soon as I find something but now, we have to move. You go left I take right. I will see the both of you later!” Raelle said before leaving the both of them standing. They couldn’t waste any more time. 

The blonde woman was running as fast as she could only stopping a few times to tell people to leave the building immediately. She was slightly out of breath when she stopped a few feet away from a big black bag who was lying in the middle of the Mall. She looked around to be sure that nobody was here anymore. When she had no doubt that she was alone, she stepped towards the bag. She knelt in front of it and began opening it slowly. She began to look closely for some sort of timer or a way to stop the bomb but to her frustration there was absolutely nothing except a huge amount of TNT who could blow up more than just the Mall. She sighted in frustration and got up that was the moment when she noticed a movement to her right. She tried to act like she hadn’t noticed the intruder and waited for him to get a little bit closer to her.   
Just one more step Raelle thought. One more step would be everything she needed to subdue him. 

As soon as the Person to her right made that last step Raelle couldn’t stop the smile creeping on her face. She whirled around as fast as she could and grabbed the arm of her attacker. She caught him by surprise which made it easy for her to twist his arm until she heard a crack followed by a painful scream. She kicked the back of his knee so hard that he went down. Raelle forced her attacker to look at her before she started to speak  
“Who is your Boss? Why do you do this?”   
Of course, the man before her said absolutely nothing, he only looked at her with empty eyes. Studying her. Raelle had to admit that it made her feel a little bit uncomfortable, but it was not the time to think about that. She still wanted answers.   
She clenched her hand into a fist, reached out and punched him right in the face. As soon as she heard his nose break blood came shooting out of it and her attacker hissed in pain touching his nose trying to stop the bleeding. Raelle was really satisfied with herself. Someone like him deserved something like that. The Blonde woman forced the Man to look at her again before she started to speak coldly  
“How do I stop that bomb from exploding? Tell me and maybe I stop punching you. Don’t tell me and this was just the beginning.”   
The man kneeling before Raelle began to laugh emotionlessly. This action took the young woman by surprise. She really hadn’t thought that the man in front of her would start to laugh but soon after he had started, he stopped abruptly and looked at Raelle again with his empty eyes.   
“You can´t stop us. I won´t let you stop us!” the Man said but before Raelle could process what he had said she was tackled to the ground roughly and the Man landed his first punch right into her stomach. His second punch followed quickly but this time he hit her in her face. She felt her lip pop open and could taste the blood coming from the cut, but she had no time to think about it because a few seconds later his next punch hit her and then the next and the next and the next.   
Her Attacker fell in some kind of trance while punching her, losing himself in it and becoming   
some kind of Robot. Raelle needed to get him of off her and stop him before it was to late. She could already feel bruises forming on her face and her body.  
Thank God that I didn’t already felt like shit today Raelle thought to herself. She allowed the man who was straddling her one more punch before she kicked him, with all the force she could bring up, in his soft parts. Raelle used the moment to get him off of her. She stood up as fast as she could and started to kick the Man in his ribs. She was about to lose herself in her rage when Tally´s Voice echoed through her head, saying her name  
“Raelle, where are you? We brought out a lot of the Civilians, but they already killed some of them…”   
The young woman was about to answer her Colleague when she noticed that she wasn’t alone anymore. She was surrounded by 5 people. 6 if someone counted that beat up piece of shit who was lying on the floor. Raelle pulled out her gun and aimed it at the guy lying on the floor.  
“Don´t come any closer or I will shoot him” Raelle tried to threaten them without much success. They seemed not to care at all about him.   
Why wouldn’t they care about one of their own? They are really more fucked up than I thought they were Raelle thought but was ripped out of her thoughts when one of the five started to scream and run at her. Raelle didn’t waste one second, she aimed at the man running at her and pulled the trigger shooting him right in the chest. He dropped to the floor, no sign of life in his body left but Raelle needed to focus because as soon as the first one touched the floor the next one attacked her, or at least he tried. Raelle dodged him successfully and shot him too. That´s the moment when Raelle could hear Tally´s and Abigail´s voice in her ear   
“Raelle? What the hell is going on in there? We heard two gunshots!” Abigail said.   
“Rae, please say something. Give us a sign that you´re not lying somewhere bleeding to death” Tally said worriedly 

The blonde woman really wanted to answer them, but she couldn’t afford to do that. Not as long as there were still 3 more Members from the Spree standing around her. She needed to take them out fast so she could give her Team a sign before they stormed in here. She still had absolutely no idea when that bomb is going to explode, and she might not care about herself or if she´s going to die today, but she really cared about her Team and she definitely didn’t wanted them to die today just because of her. She would never let that happen. 

Raelle aimed her Gun at the woman standing to her left and shot her, without hesitation. She did the same with the guy to her right so that she was left with only one person standing, plus the one lying unconscious on the floor, she aimed her gun right at the man and looked him in the eyes.   
“You are under arrest. Every word you say, can and will be used against you. Put your Hands where I can see them and turn around!” Raelle ordered but what happened next, she could not foresee. The Man pulled out a knife, looked at Raelle and said   
“WE ARE THE SPREE!” then he slit his own throat. 

Raelle watched the Man drop to the floor and put away her gun. She still couldn’t believe what just happened, but she didn’t have the time for it anyway. She was about to go to the only living member of the spree to get him out of there when she heard something.   
First, she thought she just imagined it but then she heard it again. It sounded like a clock ticking and then Raelle understood what that meant. She needed to get out of there, NOW.   
She lifted the still unconscious man up and tried to put as much distance between the bomb and herself. 

It was not easy for Raelle, considering that she was carrying a heavy mal body, and time was certainly not working for her. She really didn’t know if she would make it out in time, but she could make sure that her Team was safe, so she touched her Headset in her right ear and began to talk.  
“Tally, Abigail. I couldn’t figure out how to neutralize the bomb. They were a few members of the Spree who kept me occupied. I have one of them with me the rest of them are dead. They were able to activate the Bomb. I don’t know when exactly it´s going to blow up but you guys need to clear the Area. That was a lot of TNT so you need to get as far away as you possibly could!”   
“Rae! Rae you need to hurry up okay? Just leave him there and come out!” Tally begged her.  
“I can´t just leave him here Tall. For the first time we have the opportunity to question one of them, I can´t just screw that over. I´m trying to make it in time but I need to know that the both of you are out of reach, got it? You need to leave!” Raelle said   
“Don´t be stupid Collar! Listen to us and leave him there. Safe your own ass!!!” Abigail said frustrated.  
“GET AWAY FROM HERE! I don’t want you to die an unnecessary death. I will...” Raelle did not get any further. She was interrupted by a loud bang and then everything started to fall apart around her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I hope you like it and feel free to comment. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! 
> 
> I hope everyone is alright at this crazy time and all the things going on in the world right now.
> 
> Stay safe! 
> 
> Ashisa :)

Chapter 3

She can´t remember much, it was all rather blurry for her but what she knew was that she was talking to her Team and was trying to get out of the building before the bomb detonated but she wasn’t fast enough. She heard the Explosion and then everything began to crumple around her. 

Slowly Raelle drifted back to reality and gained control over her body again. She tried to move and stand up, but a heavy weight was keeping her down. She attempted to get rid of it but struggled for quite some time until she finally was able to free herself. Only noticing then that the weight that held her down was the Member of the Spree she was trying to carry out. All her efforts to get him out of there were for nothing seeing that he was now indeed dead, but the young woman needed to find a way out. She could think about all of that later.

Raelle wandered around without any sense of time just hoping to find a way to exit these ruins. Her head and her ribs were killing her. They were not in the best condition even before the Building collapsed because of that stupid fight she had and god damn she really was thirsty right now. All that dust didn’t help her at all against that, it was more like the opposite.   
I REALLY need to get out of here Raelle thought and continued her search for an exit, but luck seemed to be finally on her side because she started to hear People calling out for possible survivors. Raelle quickened her steps and made her way closer to the voices, calling out for them in the process. Shortly after she saw the beam of a Flashlight and then three Firefighters appeared. Raelle hurried to get to them. She really had enough for one day, all she wanted was to get out of here go home and take a long shower.   
She followed one of the Firefighters who led her outside.   
Finally, Raelle thought to herself as she could see the Exit she needed so desperately when something weird happened that let her stop in her tracks. She couldn’t tell what exactly it was but in the corner of her eye she saw something. It was only a short moment, but it was enough for Raelle to look in the direction and call out for the Man before her.   
“Hey, I think I saw something. I believe there is someone…” Raelle said directed at him. The Man rushed past her in the direction Raelle was looking at and started to control the area. He was about to give up when Raelle heard a silent whimper. Now nothing could stop her, she rushed in the direction of the sound and started looking for herself. In a matter of seconds, she found the source of the sound and called out for the Firefighter.  
“I found her can you help me get her up?” Raelle asked.   
“I´m coming” the Man answered and was at her side a few seconds later helping her. He picked the unconscious woman up, turned around and headed straight to the Exit. Raelle was about to follow him when she could feel something in her chest moving. It was only one time and so weak that she thought she just had imagined it because of that she just shook her head and made her way out. 

As soon as she stepped out, she was surrounded by Paramedics leading her to an Ambulance. The young woman tried to assure them that she was fine and didn’t needed them to check on her, but they insisted on it. Raelle just gave up and let them tend her wounds. She figured that it would be easier and faster if she just let them do whatever they wanted to do so she just shut up and waited for them to dismiss her after they were done. Before they let her go Tally and Abigail came running to her. As soon as Tally was near Raelle she pulled her in a crushing embrace.   
“I was so worried about you Rae! I really thought we lost you…” Tally said with tears in her eyes.   
“I´m okay Tall just a few bruises here and there” Raelle answered.  
“I´m glad you´re okay Collar” Abigail said trying to sound uninterested but Raelle could hear the relieve behind her words.   
“I´m glad to see that you two are okay but I would like to go home, take a shower and just go to bed. I´m kind of exhausted and I have a headache to be honest. If you want, I can drop you off at the office, since we took my car to get here?” Raelle said.  
“No, it’s okay. You can head straight home. Here are more than enough people who can take us back to the office so don’t worry about it” Abigail said with a reassuring smile.   
“You sure you´re okay, Rae?” Tally asked looking the blond woman deep in her eyes.  
“I´m really okay Tally, just exhausted and a little bit sore but that is nothing a hot shower and a good night’s sleep can’t fix. I will see the both of you tomorrow” Raelle assured her Colleagues and walked away. 

Raelle had almost reached her Car when she saw the Firefighter who showed her the way out. She decided to make a quick stop to ask him if the women she found would make it. She walked over to him and began talking   
“Excuse me? Hey, I don’t know if you remember me, but you helped me get out of there and I wanted to thank you for that.”  
“Hello Ma´am, that was just my Job. I hope you´re alright?” The Man asked.  
“Yeah, I’m going to be okay, but I actually wanted to ask you if the women you carried out would make it? I know you can’t give me a name or anything and that’s okay I just want to know if she´s going to be okay…” Raelle heard herself say. She didn’t know why but she had this extreme urge to find out if that woman was going to be okay.   
The Man standing before her looked at her, thinking about if he should give her the Information she wanted or not, but then he said  
“She is going to be okay. Thanks to you. I don’t know how you managed to find her but without you she would probably still be lying there. You saved her life.”   
Raelle just shook her head, looked at the man and said   
“I´m glad she is going to be okay. Thank you for telling me but if you excuse me know I really have to go.” With that being said she turned around and left. 

Raelle doesn’t remember how she got home or how long she took to get there, but she didn’t care about it anyway. She could only think about taking a shower and going to bed right after it. She would have never imagined that day to turn out like this.   
The young woman headed straight to the bathroom, got rid of her clothes and stepped under the shower. She turned on the water and let out a sight as soon as the first drop touched her body. It only took a few Minutes until Raelle started to let herself relax and shut down. She had absolutely no clue how long she was standing there and just letting the hot water run down her body but at some point, she decided that it was time to clean herself and get out of the shower. Her head was getting worse and her ribs were starting to kill her. She hurried up, got out of the shower and grabbed a Towel, wrapping it around her. She was not in the mood to see her beat up face, so she just walked straight out of the bathroom without taking a look at herself in der mirror and went to her dresser. She pulled out a simple black slip and a grey t-shirt. She dressed herself quickly, made a short stop in the kitchen to collect a bottle of water and an aspirin and went back to her bedroom. She took a few large sips of water, swallowed the Aspirin she got for her head and climbed in her bed. It didn’t take long for Raelle to fall asleep that night. 

Of course, Raelle wasn’t lucky enough to be granted a dreamless night. As so often in the last few weeks she was taken back to the Day that changed her life. She was forced to relive it almost every night and Raelle truly hated that. She woke up breathing heavily and covered in sweat. She ran her hand through her hair, closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.   
When her breathing went back to normal and her mind started to calm down as well, she stood up and made herself ready for work. She had still a few hours left before she had to go there but she needed to distract herself until it was an appropriate time to go to the Office. 

Her headache was almost completely gone but her ribs hurt like hell, remembering her of the events from yesterday, and her failure. Raelle had enough time to think about everything that happened, and it only led her to one conclusion. She had failed miserably, and she couldn’t let something like that happen again. She needed to learn from her mistakes, and she needed to go to the Gym to get in shape again. It took her way to long to take that guy out and she took way too many punches from him. The only positive thing she could think about in association with yesterday was the life´s they were able to safe, especially the life from the woman she found in the wreckage. She still didn’t know how or why she stopped but she was glad that she did. That way she at least did something right that day. 

Raelle got so lost in her thoughts that she forgot to check the time and when she did, she almost had a heart attack. She was definitely late and that is something that never happened to her. She collected everything that she needed, threw on some shoes and her jacket and was out the door in a matter of seconds. 

When she stepped out of the Elevator Quartermaine ordered her immediately into her office. She just sighted frustrated and made her way to her Boss, feeling the burning looks from her Team in her back. Raelle closed the door behind her and stood in the middle of the room waiting for Quartermaine to say something.   
“Sit down Agent Collar” Anacostia ordered and waited until Raelle was sitting in front of her before she continued “Your Team already filled me in on the events from yesterday and what happened, but I wanted to make sure that you are okay. After all you could have died yesterday and events like that can be really traumatizing… I would understand it if you wanted to have a few days off to deal with everything that is going on inside of you, Collar.”  
“I appreciate your offer but I´m fine and I don’t need some time off work to sort things out. I´m well aware that my Job is not the safest and that I could die every day” Raelle answered. Anacostia raised one of her eyebrows in surprise, not expecting an answer like that at all.   
“Alright. If you change your Mind just let me know” Anacostia said. Raelle only nod her head, stood up and headed to the door but before she could leave the Room, she heard Quartermaine speak again   
“Oh and Collar, I heard that you were the reason that so many lives were spared yesterday and that you took a big part at rescuing one civilian out of the wreckages. I want you to know that I am really proud of you and your work yesterday. You did a good Job!”   
Raelle couldn’t believe what she just heard so she just nodded her head and made a quick exit before her Boss could say something else that would make her feel uncomfortable.   
The rest of the day was uneventful. Tally and Abigail, mostly Tally, told her all day long how glad they were that she was still alive and checked on her like every five Minutes to make sure Raelle was okay.   
The blond woman had to admit that it was really sweet from Tally to check on her but at one point it really started to get on her nerves. She was really glad when Abigail and Tally called it a day and went home. They asked her if she would come to but Raelle told them that she would stay a little bit longer to finish her report and make up for the time she missed in the morning. Raelle could see that Tally was not really happy about it but she was glad that the other woman said nothing and left with Abigail.   
As soon as they were gone Raelle exhaled and sunk back in her chair. She opened a drawer from her desk and took out some Painkillers one of the Paramedics gave her yesterday. She tried not to show her friends in how much pain she was and because of that she waited until she was alone to take out her medication. She took out two painkillers at once and threw them in her mouth before she pulled out a bottle of water and took a sip from it to swallow the pills. 

It didn’t take them long to do their job and numb the pain a little. That way Raelle could finally focus again, at least enough to finish three of five Reports. She switched off her light, grabbed her Stuff and left the Office, ready to call it a day for herself. 

She got out of the Elevator, pulled out her keys and made her way over to her car. She was just about to get in when she heard a soft, quiet voice behind her.   
“Excuse me? I´m sorry but are you Miss Collar?” the voice said nervous. Raelle turned around and laid her eyes on a beautiful woman who looked awfully familiar to her.   
“Yes, who is asking?” Raelle asked curious.   
“Oh God, yes of course. My Name is Scylla Ramshorn. I´m here to personally thank you. I was told that you were the Person who found me and saved my life.” The young women said.   
At first Raelle was confused but then it hit her. That was the women she had found in the wreckage yesterday.   
“You…” Raelle was at a loss of words.   
“I´m sorry for just showing up. I must seem like a crazy stalker to you...” the Woman said and laughed nervously.  
“N… No, its okay. Don´t worry about it but how do you know my name and who told you that I found you?” Raelle asked the woman.  
“Well… I can be a real pain in the ass and as soon as the Firefighter told me that he was not the one who found me, that he only carried me out, I tried everything to find out your Name so I could thank you in person” she answered with a blush creeping up on her cheeks.  
“You don’t have to thank me you know? I was just lucky to be at the right place at the right time” the blond answered.   
“Of course, I need to thank you! The Man told me that, without you, I would probably still be lying there. I´m really thankful and I don’t know how I can ever repay you for what you did but I certainly will NEVER forget it Miss Collar!”  
“Please just call me Raelle” the blonde said with a smile on her lips. She can´t explain it but something about that women pulled her towards her and started the urge to get to know her. Raelle held her hand out for the other woman to shake it and not a second later she did. A warm feeling rushed through Raelles whole body as soon as their hands touched. The blonde could see a wide smile appear on the face of the woman she saved.   
“Raelle… that´s a beautiful Name” Scylla said and smiled brightly at her.   
“It´s nice to meet you Miss Ramshorn” Raelle answered with a smile on her lips.   
“Just Scylla, please.” The other woman answered.   
“Well, then it´s nice to meet you Scylla” Raelle said sweetly which caused another blush on the cheeks of the other woman. 

They were standing there, looking at each other and getting lost in their own thoughts without noticing that their hands were still touching. 

Raelle could look at the other woman for a lifetime and not get bored at all. It was like something changed inside of her when she looked at Scylla. She couldn´t put her finger on it but something was different, and she really wanted to find out what it was.   
The sound of a throat being cleared pulled Raelle out of her thoughts and she immediately noticed that she was still holding Scylla´s hand. She let go of the hand and whispered a Sorry with a blush creeping up on her face.   
“I probably should go. It´s getting pretty late and I have a train to catch but again thank you for what you did for me Raelle” Scylla said with a smile and turned to leave.   
Something in Raelle snapped at the sight of Scylla leaving and before she could realize what she did she heard herself say   
“Scylla wait, let me drive you home… please?”   
“You don´t have to do that. I don’t mind taking the train” Scylla answered.  
“Please, just let me drive you. It would make me feel better knowing you got home safe and sound and it´s way faster than the train” Raelle tried again.   
Scylla looked at Raelle and seemed to think about it for a moment before she smiled again and nod her head yes.   
“Okay, I would love to let you drive me home” Scylla said.   
Raelle smiled brightly at her and answered  
“Great, then let’s go.”  
The blonde woman walked around her car and opened the passenger side and held it open for the other woman with a sweet smile on her face.  
“Thank you” Scylla said as she got in. Raelle closed the door for her and walked back around to the driver’s side and got in the car herself. 

While the drive to Scylla´s home they talked the entire time about every topic that came to their minds. They hadn’t spent even one second in silence.   
Raelle really enjoyed Scylla´s company and was almost disappointed when she pulled up in front of her home. Raelle turned in her seat so she could get a better look at Scylla who was already looking at her.   
“Thank you for driving me home, Raelle. That was really nice from you” Scylla said with a small smile on her face. Raelle couldn’t stop herself from thinking that Scylla looked almost sad. It seemed like Scylla didn’t wanted their time to end as well.   
Raelle smiled at her before taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze  
“It was my pleasure. I really enjoyed your company and I´m glad that you came to find me tonight, Scylla.”   
“I´m glad about it too” Scylla answered and looked Raelle deeply in the eyes.   
Raelles throat suddenly became completely dry and because of that her next words came out just as a whisper  
“Goodnight Scylla”  
“Goodnight Raelle” Scylla answered, turned around and opened the door. The young woman was already out of the car when she stopped her movement and turned back around looking nervously at Raelle.  
“Would you like to get a drink with me sometime maybe?” Scylla asked, voice laced with nervousness.   
“I would love to get a drink with you sometime” Raelle answered with a huge smile on her face before she pulled out a small card and wrote something on the back of it.  
“Just let me know when you got time” the blonde said and held the card out for Scylla to take it.   
“I will!” Scylla said, took the card from Raelle, leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. That’s when Raelle could feel it again. A short, weak movement in her chest.

Could it be…? 

Raelle couldn’t stop asking her that question after what happened with Scylla. Did she just imagine that movement in her chest or was it really there? Had Scylla felt something like that too? No matter what she did Raelle couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not while she was driving home or while she made herself something to eat or when she was getting ready for bed. The events of the evening kept her awake for a few more hours.


	4. Chaper 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :)
> 
> Just a quick reminder that English is not my nativ language so I apologize for any mistakes I made! 
> 
> As always let me know what you think and leave a command! 
> 
> Have fun while reading. 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy! 
> 
> Ashisa :)

Raelle hasn’t heard anything from Scylla all week which made her wonder if the other woman had changed her mind about her invitation. It was hard for her to concentrate at work. She hasn’t slept well the entire week which made it even more difficult for her to focus on something for more than 10 seconds. She was glad when she walked out of the Office on a Friday, knowing she would have the weekend off. She really needed the time to recharge her batteries and sort some things out and get a few things done and besides all of that the anniversary of her mother´s death was only two days away. It was crazy thinking about it so Raelle tried to forget about it. She wasn’t ready to feel that pain again, so she tried to block it out. Raelle got in her car, started her engine and was ready to drive home when her phone made a sound, signaling that she had gotten a message. She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the display to see who had send her a message. *Hey, I´m sorry that it took me so long to get back to you, I had a busy week at work and wasn’t able to contact you any sooner but I hope you´re still up for that drink I asked you about? Xo S.* Raelle smiled softly at her phone while reading Scylla´s message. She was glad that the other woman finally texted her and Raelle found it kind of cute how unsure she seemed to be. The young women decided she would answer Scylla later when she was at home and was done with all her grocery shopping, she still had to do, so without wasting any more time she put her phone back in her pocket and drove off. It took Raelle longer than she thought it would to get everything on her list but after two long hours she finally opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside. She put the bags in the Kitchen and started to put away her groceries. When she was done, she changed into something more comfortable, grabbed herself something to drink and her phone and went to sit outside on her balcony. She took a sip from her glass and enjoyed the silence while she took her phone and opened her messages. It was time to reply to Scylla. *Hey you, I´m glad to hear from you! You got me worried there for a second that you changed your mind. Of course, I’m still in for that drink. There is no way I would back down from it! :) Raelle* Raelle pressed the send button and put her phone beside her hoping that Scylla would answer her soon. She let herself relax completely, looked up at the Night sky and let her mind wander. Of course, she thought about her Mother and about how much she missed her. She thought about the day she was taken from her and how much it changed her but as soon as Raelle thought about Scylla something in her changed. The pain she felt just a few seconds ago seemed to get weaker until it completely disappeared. The blonde woman placed her hand over her heart, wondering if Scylla was the one who could make her heart beat and let her see the world in color and not just black and white. Raelle always thought that the whole concept of that Soulmate thing was just complete bullshit but after meeting Scylla and feeling what she felt in that short amount of time she had spent with her made her wonder. Could this woman really be her person? The one who could make her happy and would make her feel whole again or was the universe just fooling around with her? Raelle had so many questions running through her head and not one single answer. All she did know was that she couldn’t stop thinking about that woman even if she tried really hard and that she couldn’t wait to see her again. Raelle was pulled out of her thoughts when her phone made a sound, indicating that she received a new message. She didn’t waste a second, took her phone opened the message and started reading it immediately. *Well I am really glad to hear that your still up for that drink, but I thought that maybe we could upgrade it a little bit? I would like to invite you to come to my place, have dinner with me and that drink I promised you.* Raelle smiled at her phone while typing her response. *That sounds absolutely perfect to be honest. I would love to have dinner with you!* She hit send and starred at her phone, waiting for an answer. This time it took Scylla only a few seconds to write back. *Are you free tomorrow? Let´s say at around 8 o´clock?* Raelle hesitated for a moment. Was it a good idea to meet up with Scylla just one day before the anniversary of her mother´s death? Should she really do that? The young woman started to contemplate and came to the conclusion that it was worth a try. It wouldn’t hurt to spend some time with Scylla and get to know her a little better. It also was the chance for Raelle to get some answers to all those questions wandering around her head. Before she could change her mind on this the blonde wrote her answer. *Tomorrow, 8 o´clock. I will be there.* Raelle and Scylla continued to write for a few more hours without noticing how fast the time went by. When they did notice how much time had passed, it was already way past midnight. Both women decided then that it was time to call it a night and said their goodbyes. After half an hour Raelle was finally lying in her bed, a huge smile on her face and Scylla on her mind. She couldn’t wait to see her again and all she had to do was survive a few more hours until she could. It took a while until Raelle calmed herself, and her thoughts, down so she was able to fall asleep. When Raelle awoke a few hours later she was surprised that it wasn’t because of a Nightmare. She glanced at her alarm Glock on her nightstand and saw that it was already half past nine. The young woman couldn’t remember the last time she had slept for that long and it was almost creeping her out to be honest. She decided to not think too much about it and got out of bed. She went to her dresser und pulled out some shorts and a top before she disappeared in her Bathroom changing her clothes. Raelles day was pretty uneventful. She went for a run right after she got out of bed, took a shower as soon as she got back, cleaned her apartment, and finished some paperwork she brought home. All that was just Raelles way to stop herself from thinking too much about everything going on right now because if she would allow her that she would probably freak out. With every hour that passed Raelle got a little bit more nervous. She didn´t know why she was feeling that way, she was never that kind of person who got nervous before a date, but with Scylla everything was different. Maybe it was the possibility that Scylla could be her Soulmate that made Raelle feel that way, she just hoped that after tonight she would know more about it. She wasn´t sure how she would react if her suspicions turned out to be true, but it would still be good to know the truth. Hell, she didn’t even know what Scylla would think about that whole Soulmate thing. Would she be okay with it or would she freak out? Before Raelle could freak herself even more out with the what if´s she decided that it was time for her to get ready. She still had to find something to wear for tonight. She went in her Bedroom and opened her closet starring at every piece that was in there, trying to find out what she wanted to wear. After about one and a half hours she finally had found an outfit she felt good in. She stood in front of her large mirror and looked at herself. She decided to wear her favorite black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt that she tucked in her jeans at the front and crowned that look with a black blazer. She looked at the Clock and saw that it was time to leave. Usually it would take her about 20 minutes to get to Scylla´s place but Raelle needed to make a quick stop which would cost her 10 more minutes. The young woman glanced one last time at herself in the mirror, checking if everything was okay, before she grabbed her stuff and left her apartment. Raelle took one deep breath before she finally found the courage to ring the bell to Scylla´s apartment. She glanced at her phone seeing that she was right on time when a buzzing sound appeared. She put her phone away and stepped inside the house. She needed to climb a few stairs until she was in front of Scylla´s apartment. This time she didn´t waste even one second and knocked on her door gently. It took only a few seconds before the door swung open and Scylla appeared in the doorway looking absolutely beautiful. She was wearing a jeans in a dark blue color and a grey T-shirt. It was such a casual outfit, but it managed to make Raelle speechless for just a second. As soon as Raelle saw a smile in Scylla´s face she remembered that she needed to say something. “Hello, Beautiful. These are for you. I hope you like them...” Raelle said nervous and handed Scylla a bouquet of roses. The smile in Scylla´s face got even bigger when she took the flowers. “They are gorgeous, Raelle. Thank you. Come in, make yourself comfortable. I will put them in some water really quick and then I will be back in a second okay?” Scylla said after she closed the door behind Raelle and shoot her one last smile before she disappeared. Raelle walked further into Scylla´s apartment, looking around in the process. Raelle could feel herself come down a little bit. She walked into an open space what seemed like to be Scylla´s living room. She decided to wait there until the other woman would return. It didn’t feel right for Raelle to walk around here without Scylla by her side. It made her feel like a stalker or something. Raelle waited patiently, standing in the middle of the living room starring outside the window, lost in her thoughts. That´s when Scylla found her. “Hey, everything okay?” the woman asked Raelle with a hint of worry in her voice. “Yeah, everything is fine. Just… a lot on my mind. It smells delicious in here by the way. Whatever your made for dinner I´m sure will taste fantastic” Raelle said changing the subject. Scylla frowned for a second before she put the smile back on her face and said “We will find out soon I guess but how about I give you a short tour through my humble home?” “I would love that” Raelle answered smiling. With that being said Scylla took Raelles hand and lead her out of the living room, starting her little tour. Raelle couldn’t believe how easy it was to be around Scylla. Everything was just going so smooth. They never went out of topics they could talk about, Scylla made her laugh all the time and Raelle just felt completely comfortable around the other woman and not to mention that Scylla could cook! After they were both done Raelle helped Scylla clean the dishes, ignoring the protests from the other woman completely. Even doing the dishes was making fun with Scylla, Raelle thought while taking another plate to dry and put it away. “What are you thinking about?” Scylla asked pulling Raelle out of her thoughts. “I was just thinking about how easy everything seems to be with you” Raelle admitted while her cheeks were becoming red. “I could say the same thing about you…” the young woman answered and took a step towards Raelle. “God, you´re so beautiful…” Raelle whispered, closed the distance between them and placed her hand on Scylla´s cheek slightly leaning towards her. Raelle wanted to kiss Scylla so badly in this moment, wanted to feel her lips on her own, but she would not do it without a sign from Scylla that she was okay with it. Luckily, she only had to wait a few seconds before Scylla closed the last millimeters between them and laid her lips softly on Raelles. As soon as their lips touched Raelle could feel a warmth run through her body and something in her clicked. For the first time in a long time Raelle felt whole again. She sighted happily, pulled Scylla even closer to her and returned the kiss. They only parted when they were forced to because of the lack of oxygen. Neither of them were ready to say something just now and Raelle was okay with that. She touched Scylla´s forehead with her own and closed her eyes. That was the moment that she felt it. At first it was weak and hardly noticeable but with every second it became stronger and stronger. Raelle swallowed loudly and took a step back finally opening her eyes only to find out that Scylla was already looking at her, watching her but what Raelle saw took her breath away. Before her stood the prettiest woman Raelle had ever seen and she was looking at her with piercing blue eyes with a thousand of emotions running through them. By reflex Raelle put her hand on the spot where her heart was beating like crazy in her chest. Tears were filling her eyes while she stared at the woman in front of her with the blue eyes. She got her answers and so much more she thought before she closed the distance between them again, taking Scylla´s hand in hers. “Do you…? Can you…? Are you...?” Raelle wasn’t able to form even one simple question. She just closed her mouth again hoping the other woman would understand her. The brunette looked Raelle deep in the eyes while she took her hand and placed it on her chest. Raelles eyes widened immediately, a single tear escaping them. There under her hand, in Scylla´s chest, she could feel a heartbeat. No not just any heartbeat. Raelle could feel the heartbeat of her Soulmate and that was something she never thought would happen or that she wanted to happen but now, here in this moment, she couldn’t be happier to feel it. Raelle pulled Scylla in for a hug and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before she tried once again to say something. “Are you okay? I could understand it if you wanted me to leave. It’s a lot to take in and I don’t know what you think about that whole Soulmate thing…” Raelle waited for an answer but Scylla was just standing there, starring at her. A huge lump started to form in Raelles throat. She nodded her head and brought distance between them. “I´m sorry… I will go but thank you for tonight and everything else.” Raelle managed to say. Tears were threatening to come out any second now, so she turned on her heels and quickly left the kitchen. She picked up her stuff and was about to leave the apartment when a soft hand wrapped around her wrist and stopped her. Raelle turned around and almost got lost in Scylla´s eyes who were full of tears. “Don´t leave! I´m sorry about how I reacted I just… I never thought that I would be lucky enough to find my Soulmate and then I met you and everything started to change. I couldn’t get you out of my head and I had my suspicions, but I never thought they would turn out to be true. I needed a moment to process that new information, to process that finally something good was happening in my life because that´s what this is” Scylla pointed at Raelle and then herself “this is something extremely good so please… please don´t leave. I just found you….” The brunette said not being able to hold back her tears. Seeing Scylla crying broke Raelles heart a little bit. She knew immediately that she hated to see Scylla that way and that she had to do something against it. She couldn’t bear the thought that she was the reason why her Soulmate was crying so Raelle made a decision. She pulled Scylla towards her and gave her a hug. “Shh please stop crying. I´m not going anywhere, I promise!” Raelle said trying to comfort the brunette in her arms. They were standing in the middle of the hall for quite some time before Raelle led her to the couch. She sat down and pulled Scylla in her lap. The Brunette didn’t waste a moment and buried her face in Raelles neck. They sat there for a while in complete silence, both lost in their own thoughts until Scylla started to stir in Raelle´s arms. The brunette sat up and looked at Raelle. “I´m really sorry…” Scylla began to say but Raelle stopped her immediately. “Don´t. You don´t have to apologize to me, Scyl. It´s okay and I completely understand. I never thought that I would find my Soulmate, hell I never believed in that whole concept to be honest but then you stepped into my life and that whole Soulmate thing seemed to be much more attractive to me. You were overwhelmed and that was your right. Don´t worry about it anymore okay?” Raelle said with a reassuring smile. Scylla was at a loss for words, so she decided to let her actions speak for her. She changed her position in Raelles lap until she was straddling her, pulled her closer and gave her a kiss. At first their kisses were gentle and sweet but soon they wanted more. Their kisses became more passionate and demanding. Their hands roaming over their body´s, only separating when they needed air, but this time Scylla used the time to say “Let´s go to the bedroom.” Raelle could only nod her head yes, she was not able to form any kind of words in that moment, so she waited until Scylla stood up and followed her lead, taking her hand while walking to the bedroom.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys,
> 
> I`m finally able to post the next chapter. I'm sorry for the delay but life can be just tough sometimes but anyway I hope you're going to like it. 
> 
> As always feel free to let me know what you think by leaving a command and a kudo. 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy!
> 
> Ashisa :)

Chapter 5

It was four in the morning when Raelle woke up. She was breathing heavily, cold sweat running down her body. All she could think about was her dream that still haunted her and that she needed fresh air. She needed to get up, so she did. She tried to be as quiet as she could possibly be while collecting her clothes who were lying on the bedroom floor. She glanced at the bed where Scylla was still sleeping peacefully before she left the room. Raelle didn’t want the other women to see her like this because she knew what was going to happen. Raelle tried to get dressed as fast as she could but her hands began to shake violently and breathing became incredibly difficult. She tried so hard to fight the upcoming panic attack but unfortunately it was a strong one.   
The blond woman should have known that something like this would going to happen it was the anniversary of her mother´s death after all. She started to beat herself up in her thoughts. How could she be so stupid and stayed the night? It wasn’t the first time that she had to go through that day, and she knew that the chances were high that she would have a nightmare and even a panic attack. God how could she be so stupid Raelle thought still trying to get dressed but her hands were shaking way too much.   
She fell on her knees, the first tears escaping her eyes. Her lungs began to burn because of the lack of oxygen. Raelle began to rock back and forth falling in some kind of trance trying to breath while she sobbed quietly.

She had absolutely no idea how long she sat there in this state but the next thing she noticed was Scylla falling on her knees in front of Raelle, trying to get her attention, worry written all over her face. The blond women could see that Scylla´s lips were moving but she didn´t hear what she was saying. All Raelle could notice was that burning feeling in her lungs and pure, raw, pain.

Only when Scylla took Raelle's face gently in her hands and forced her to look at her, Raelle awoke from her trance. She tried to calm down by looking into Scylla´s eyes but she still had trouble breathing. She really needed some air so she tried to form a sentence to let Scylla know what she wanted but all she could manage to do was stuttering.  
“C… can´t… breath!”   
As soon as Raelle said that, Scylla was on her feet opening all the windows in her living room to let as much fresh air in as she possibly could. When there weren’t any more windows Scylla could open, she hurried back to Raelle. She fell on her knees again, took Raelles hand and placed it over her beating heart. She looked the blonde women deep in the eyes and began talking with a calm voice.  
“I need you to focus on my heartbeat, Raelle okay? Just try to focus on that” Scylla said and waited a few seconds to see if Raelle would react. When the women in front of her nodded her head and closed her eyes to focus, Scylla continued talking.  
“That’s good, Baby. Just focus on my steady heartbeat” she gave Raelle a few Minutes to calm down a little and when Scylla was sure that it was working, she started to talk again.   
“You need to breath. Can you do that for me Raelle? Just breath In and Out. Do it with me. In and Out” the brunette said while taking deep breaths and watching Raelle carefully.   
As soon as Scylla saw that the blond followed her words and was breathing steadily again, she let herself relax a little bit. 

The brunette leaned forward and gave Raelle a gentle kiss on her forehead before she whispered  
“You´re okay… everything is going to be okay. I´m here baby and I´m not going anywhere.” 

Slowly Raelle opened her eyes again, looking at the women in front of her ashamed deciding that she needed to say something.   
“I´m sorry you had to see this… I tried to go so you wouldn´t have to deal with it but I wasn´t fast enough. I´m so so sorry Scyl.”   
“Stop it. I´m really glad that I was around okay? I want to be there for you whenever you need me Raelle” Scylla said while pulling the other woman into her arms. 

Raelle didn’t know how to respond to this so she just let herself be held by Scylla.   
The two women were sitting in the middle of the living room for quite some time when Scylla noticed that Raelle feel asleep in her arms. She decided that it would be best to just carry the blond back to bed rather than waking her up again.   
Scylla stood up with Raelle in her arms, carefully not to wake her up, and made her way to the bedroom. 

As soon as Scylla was sure that Raelle wouldn´t wake up again she left her bedroom.   
She closed all the windows again, made herself a cup of coffee and sat down on her couch. She wasn´t able to sleep after what just happened.

After about one and a half hour Scylla could hear movements coming from her bedroom and shortly after an exhausting looking Raelle exited it. The brunette had hoped that Raelle would get a little bit more sleep after the events earlier that morning.  
She watched her make her way over to the couch, sitting down on the other end of it, with as much space between them as possible. Scylla tried to not let that get to her but what irritated her even more was the fact that Raelle seemed to avoid eye contact at every cost. It seemed like she couldn´t bare looking at Scylla. The brunette frowned. 

After what felt like an eternity of silence Raelle finally began to speak without looking up from her fumbling hands.   
“I know I already said that, but I have the feeling I need to say it again. I´m really sorry. Usually I have more control over myself and don’t let it get that worse. I can´t explain why I couldn´t control it this time but I should have known that something like that would happen… I´m so sorry Scylla” Raelles voice broke at the end and a sob escaped her lips. 

When Scylla heard that sob nothing could hold her back. She closed the distance between the two of them and pulled Raelle in her lap. Even then the blond woman tried to avoid eye contact, but Scylla would not tolerate that any longer. With a firm voice Scylla began to speak.  
“Look at me Raelle. Don´t hide whatever is going on inside of you from me.” Scylla waited for Raelle to look up, but she never did so Scylla said again   
“Look at me, Raelle. I can´t stand the fact that you don´t want to look at me so please. I´m begging you...” her voice breaking a little bit at the end.   
Another moment passed before Raelle reluctantly lifted her head and glanced at Scylla. 

The Brunette inhaled sharply when she locked eyes with the blond and saw all this pain and the unshed tears in them.   
“Please talk to me. Tell me what is causing you so much pain” she said fighting against her own tears.   
“A few years ago, I lost my mother. She was also an Agent at the FBI and she was working on some big important case. My Mom was one of the best Agents they had at that time. She always gave one hundred and twenty percent at work. One night she called me to tell me that she would be running late because she had to check a hint, she had gotten that could help her solve her big case, but it turned out to be a trap. My mom was killed that night…” Raelle needed to take a deep breath before she could continue.  
“I never really got over her death. What you saw earlier was the aftermath from the nightmare I had. It´s nothing new for me to dream about that night, this happens regularly to be honest but I´m not used to having these panic attacks anymore. The one I had earlier was actually the first one in five years.” 

Scylla took Raelles hand in hers, interwinding their fingers.   
“Is that the reason why you decided to become an Agent?” Scylla asked the blond.   
“Yes. My mom was the most important person to me in the world. After she was taken away from me nothing made sense anymore. I started to care less and get more reckless. I just stopped caring about myself and my life so one night I decided that I would join the FBI, that I would try to be the best Agent I could be and make the world a little bit safer. While I was in training everybody was afraid of me because I was ice cold, merciless and fearless” Raelle answered and looked at the Brunette who had a frown on her face.  
“What do you mean with you stopped caring about yourself and your life?” Scylla asked still with a frown on her face, suddenly afraid of Raelle´s answer.   
“Working at the FBI, being an Agent, it´s not a safe job. I could leave my apartment in the morning and never come back. That was one of the reasons why I joined. I´m not afraid of dying it´s more like the opposite. I challenge death every time I go out there to stop the bad guys. That day, when I found you in the wreckages, I could have died too and I couldn´t care less about it...” Raelle said but this time she avoided looking at the brunette. 

Suddenly Scylla grasped Raelles face and forced her to look at her, tears running down her face, panic written all over it. She leaned forward and gave the blond a quick rough kiss.   
“You can´t do this anymore. You can´t go to work with that mindset, you need to stop challenging death every time you get the chance to do so. You felt alone after your mother was taken away from you and believe me, I know that feeling but now you´re not alone anymore. You got me and I care about you, a lot, regardless of that whole Soulmate thing. Please promise me that you will stop being reckless when you go out there and that you will try your best to come back home every day. I´m just getting to know you and there is a lot more I need to find out. Also, you should know that I plan to be in your life for a very long time so please promise me that you´ll always come back to me” Scylla said, now full on crying. 

Raelle was speechless after hearing Scylla say all of that. The blond wished she could promise Scylla that she would always come back to her but she couldn´t. Even when she stopped challenging death and being all reckless, she couldn´t promise it. Her job was dangerous after all. Of course, she would try it from now on but she couldn´t make that promise to Scylla. 

Instead of giving her the answer Scylla wanted to hear Raelle leant forward and started to kiss her soulmate. It was a desperate try to distract the other woman so she would not have to make a promise she couldn´t keep. 

At first Raelle thought that her plan was working, and that Scylla had forgotten about that promise but suddenly the brunette broke the kiss and leant back, swallowing hard.   
“I know what you´re trying Raelle but it won´t work” Scylla said.   
“You know that I can´t promise you to always come back to you. My job is not safe after all, but what I can promise you is that I will look more after myself when I´m out there” Raelle said, hoping it would be enough.   
“Okay. I´ll take everything I can get. I´m still going to be worried about you but I guess that is something I need to get used to” Scylla said with a small smile on her face while whipping away the last remaining’s of her tears. 

The two women spent a few more hours together talking, laughing, just enjoying each other’s company before it was time for Raelle to go back home. Scylla walked with Raelle to her car, hand in hand. Before they would split, she pulled the blond one last time towards her, giving her a sweet and gentle kiss.   
“Are you going to be okay?” Scylla asked the blond woman while looking her in the eyes.  
“Yeah, I think I will be okay don´t worry about me” Raelle answered with a small smile on her face. She leant down to steal one last kiss from the woman in her arms before she let go of her and got into her car. She started the engine, looked one last time at Scylla, and drove off. 

Spread over the week Raelle started to visit the Gym that was a part of the FBI Headquarters whenever work would allow it.  
It was a busy week for her Team, a lot of cases to solve, which was the reason she had barley time for Scylla, and she hated it. She missed the other woman and just hearing her voice over the phone or writing with her just wasn´t enough anymore. Each day that passed without seeing her Soulmate, Raelles mood was getting worse and that was something that caught the attention of Tally and Abigail. 

At one point they had enough and decided it was time that Raelle told them what was going on with her. They waited until they were going to have their weekly Team bonding at the bar. When the day finally came, and they were sitting in the bar they got right to it. 

“It´s time for you to tell us what is going one with you, Collar!” Abigail said to the blond.  
Raelle almost chocked on her drink, not expecting that at all.   
“What do you mean?” she asked confused looking at her friends.   
“Don´t try to fool us, Raelle. We are not blind. Something happened and whatever it is, it´s affecting your mood massively so just tell us what is going on with you” Tally said with a raised eyebrow, looking at Raelle.

The blond woman contemplated if she should tell them about Scylla or not. She was well aware of the demanding looks from her friends who were waiting for an answer, so she decided that it wouldn´t hurt to tell them. She sighted and before saying   
“Okay, fine. I met someone a few days ago and it turns out that she is my Soulmate. Her name is Scylla.”   
“OH. MY. GOD. That is amazing Raelle!” Tally immediately said with a huge smile on her face.   
“But why is your mood so bad when you found your Soulmate? Shouldn´t you be like over the moon or something?” Abigail asked.  
“Well, we weren´t able to see each other because I´m so caught up in work. We only talk over the phone or write, and I really hate that. All I want to do is spent some time with her and see her...” Raelle said getting upset again.   
“What the hell are you doing here then?” Abigail asked dumbly.   
“Yeah you should go to her, spent some time together” Tally added.  
“But today is our ´Team-Bonding` thing and I know how important that is for you, Tally” Raelle said.   
“Don´t be silly. Go to your girl and spent some time with her. Tomorrow I will help you to create more time to see her even when it´s a busy week and we will make sure of it that you still got time for our weekly Team-Bonding okay?” Tally offered with a smile.  
“Thank you Tall, you are the best!” Raelle said smiling. She stood up and collected her stuff.   
“I´ll see you guys tomorrow” said Raelle over her shoulder already on her way out. 

Twenty Minutes later Raelle parked her car in front of Scylla´s home and got out. She walked over to the door and was about to ring the bell when the door opened, and someone exited the building. Raelle stepped inside quickly, sprinting up the stairs until she was in front of Scylla´s door. She was about to knock on her door when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She got it out and saw a message from Scylla.

Give me a call as soon as you get home, so I know you got there safely!   
I miss you

Xo S.

Raelle typed a quick answer and hit send.

I have a better idea. Open your door, Beautiful!

Xo 

Raelle puts her phone back in her pocket just in time when the door opens, and Scylla appears in the doorway. 

“Surprise” the blond said with a soft smile on her face.   
Instead of an answer Scylla pulled Raelle towards her gave her a kiss and lead her into her apartment closing the door behind them.   
As soon as the door was closed Raelle pressed Scylla against it, kissing her hungrily.   
When they parted to breathe again Raelle let go of the other woman with a huge smile on her face.   
“I missed you too by the way” she said while smiling at the brunette.   
“Don´t get this the wrong way, because I´m really glad you´re here, but why are you here? I thought you couldn´t make it this week.” Scylla asked curious.   
“Let´s just say that my mood was not the best the last few days, so my Team decided to interrogate me on it. They kind of know now that I found my Soulmate. I hope you´re not mad...” Raelle answered nervous.   
“How could I be mad about something like that especially when it allowed me to see you? Plus, I kind of like it that your Team knows about me. It will make things easier for us I think” Scylla said with a smile before she took Raelles hand and lead her deeper into the Apartment.   
“Are you hungry? I could cook you something if you want?” the brunette offered.   
Raelle could only smile. What did she do to deserve someone so perfect?  
“No, I´m not hungry but thank you” the blond said while hugging Scylla from behind.   
“Are you sure, Babe?” Scylla tried again, turning in Raelles arms to face her only to notice how tired and exhausted she looked. As soon as she saw that the brunette got worried.  
“You haven´t slept much the last few days, have you?” she asked her Soulmate while caressing her check looking worried.   
All Raelle could do was sight in defeat. It would make absolutely no sense to lie to Scylla, so she decided to just tell the truth.   
“No, I haven´t…” she said softly.   
“Raelle… why didn´t you tell me?” Scylla asked even more worried now.  
“Because we both had enough trouble with not seeing each other and I didn´t wanted to make it worse. Plus, I hate seeing you worried.” Raelle said.  
“You can´t keep things like your sleep problem from me. I want to know what is going on with you, especially when I can´t be around you.” The brunette said.   
“I´m sorry, the next time I will tell you.” The blond answered before adding  
“I should probably head home now. It is pretty late already.” That’s when a yawn escaped her.   
“What? No way I´m not letting you drive. You can barely keep your eyes open! You´re staying here for the night.” Scylla said upset.   
“Scyl…” Raelle started to say but was quickly interrupted.  
“No, don´t fight me on this. I won´t allow you to leave this apartment.”   
“Actually, I was going to ask you if you could lend me something I could sleep in?” Raelle asked sheepishly. Scylla sighted relieved before saying   
“Yeah, of course.” 

They walked hand in hand to the bedroom where Scylla immediately started to look for something, she could give Raelle to wear but the blond had other plans. Of course, she was tired, but she was definitely not ready to go to sleep just yet. She stepped behind the woman who was still searching for something to wear for her and pulled her hair to the site. Raelle started to place soft kisses on the free skin on her neck.  
“You know, technically I don´t need clothes to sleep” the blonde whispered in Scylla´s ear causing the other woman to freeze and turn around in her arms.   
“I guess you´re right…” Scylla said seductively before she kissed Raelle and started to undress her, leading her to her bed in the process. 

This is going to be another sleepless night Raelle thought while kissing Scylla hungrily.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :)
> 
> as always enjoy the new Chapter and feel free to let me know what you think! 
> 
> Stay safe & healthy 
> 
> Ashisa :)

Chapter 6

When Raelle awoke only two hours after falling asleep, she was still completely exhausted. She was tired before but after doing all those things with Scylla, two hours of sleep were not nearly enough to recharge her batteries.   
She turned her head and looked at the woman sleeping peacefully in her arms a smile forming on her face. She leant forward and gave Scylla a soft kiss on the forehead before she stood up carefully so she wouldn´t wake her up. She grabbed the t-shirt that Scylla wore earlier and threw it on making her way over to the door, exiting the room quietly.   
The blond walked into the kitchen and took a bottle of water out of the fridge. She didn´t waste any time, opened it and took a few long sips out of it. She really was thirsty, it was the reason why she woke up in the first place, which was kind of shocking now that she realized that it wasn´t another nightmare. She walked over to the window, taking another sip of her water and looking out. She stood there for a few more minutes until she felt two arms wrap softly around her followed by a gentle kiss on her neck.   
“You okay?” Scylla asked while yawning.   
“Yeah I was just thirsty and needed some water. I´m sorry if I woke you” Raelle answered softly.  
“Don´t worry about it. You were really just thirsty and nothing more?” Scylla asked again, wanting to be sure. Raelle turned around and gave her a quick kiss before smiling at her.  
“Yeah, this time it has nothing to do with a nightmare. I was just really thirsty so you can stop worrying, Beautiful” the blond said and gave the woman in her arms another kiss noticing that Scylla could barely keep her eyes open.  
“Come on, let´s get you back to bed.” Raelle took Scylla´s hand and walked her back to the bedroom.   
As soon as they both were back in bed the brunette cuddled into Raelles site sighting satisfied and feel asleep almost immediately. For Raelle it wasn´t that easy to get back to sleep. She was lying awake for a little bit longer until sleep washed over her. 

The next thing Raelle noticed were soft kisses on her neck, forehead and cheek. She turned her head in the direction where the kisses were coming from and opened her eyes a little bit only to find two piercing blue eyes looking directly at her. Happiness written all over them. Raelle couldn´t help the smile that was forming on her face and the feelings that started to spark in her chest.   
“Good Morning beautiful” Raelle whispered sleepily which caused the smile on Scylla´s face to get bigger.  
“Good morning. How did you sleep the rest of the night?” Scylla asked softly while caressing Raelles cheek lovingly.   
“Pretty good actually. It took me a while to fall back to sleep after I woke up but having you in my arms, lying next to me helped a lot. I found out that you´re breathing is calming me down.” Raelle answered.   
“I´m just glad that you could manage to get some rest and just for the record I noticed something as well.” Scylla said smiling.   
“Oh, and what would that be? Please enlighten me!” Raelle answered with a little laugh.  
“It´s just that I sleep better when I´m in your arms, listening to your steady heartbeat. It gives me some kind of comfort.” Scylla said.

Raelle leant forward and captured Scylla´s lips with her own. As always when they kissed a warmth flowed through her body. They were lying there for a little bit longer until it was time for the blonde to go. She still had to drive by her place to get ready for work. 

As always Scylla brought Raelle to the door. She pulled the blond woman towards her and gave her a long desperate kiss. Neither one of them knew when they would see each other again which made both a little bit sad and dampened the mood.   
“Stay safe while you´re out there and call me later when you get back home okay?” Scylla said.  
“I will but you need to stay safe as well and write me when you get back from work.” Raelle said pleading.   
“I will but you have to go now otherwise you´re going to be late…” said the brunette with a sad smile.  
The blond only nodded, opened the door and left the apartment. She got to her car got in and drove away. She was already late, so she had to hurry once she was at her apartment.   
She took a quick shower, got dressed and was out of the door again in record time. 

She parked her car in front of the FBI headquarter, but before she got out, she wrote a quick message to Scylla.

I hate this! I want to see you more often and I want to wake up to you in the mornings…  
I´m already dreading the sleepless nights.

I already miss you, beautiful…

Raelle exited her car, ready to get some work done and visit the Gym after to release some steam. What the blond woman couldn´t suspect was that her day would be extremely long.   
She entered the office, walking to her desk when Quartermaine caught the attention from everyone.   
“We got a new threat from the Spree. I need every Agent on this. They placed multiple black backs in the whole city. We need to neutralize as many as we can and evacuate all those places. The police department is already on the way. We need to work together to safe as many as we can. Good luck out there” the woman said before disappearing. 

Without wasting another Minute all the Teams were heading out to the location they got assigned. Raelle, Tally and Abigail had to drive to a cinema on the other side of the city. Abigail was driving as fast as she could while Tally was studying the file they got handed out. Raelle pulled out her gun making sure that she was loaded and ready for use.   
They didn´t know what exactly would happen once they were there but Raelle was determined not to fail again like she did the last time. 

When they arrived at the Location there were already a few Officers from the Police Department. Raelle and her Team got out of the car and made their way over to them to find someone who could inform them about the situation. It didn´t took them long to do that and as soon as they had all the information’s they needed they made a plan how to approach the Situation.  
“Tally you will help evacuate the left side, Abigail you take the right. Remember, keep your eyes open and don´t hesitate to shoot. Stay in touch and be careful.” Raelle said and nodded at her friends before taking off to search the place for members of the Spree.

Raelle knew that she could count on Abigail and Tally to do their job and because of that she could concentrate completely on searching the place for the bad guys.   
She pulled out her gun and began to check every room and every hall in the building. The whole time Raelle had this feeling that somebody was watching her but every time she turned around or let her gaze wander there was nobody there.   
She was starting to doubt herself when she heard a noise coming from the room to her right which she hadn´t cleared yet. 

“Tally, Abigail? You there?” she whispered.  
“Yeah. What´s going on?” Tally asked her.   
“I heard something in one of the rooms I haven´t searched yet. I think that there might be someone in there” Raelle whispered her answer and walking closer to the room.  
“We´re coming but don´t go in there alone, Raelle. Wait for us so we can give you backup” Tally said already on her way to enter the building, Abigail right behind her.   
“I´m on the…” Raelle wasn´t able to finish her sentence. The door before her burst open and a woman came running out in full speed, tackling Raelle down. 

Raelle hit her head hard on the floor which caused her vision to become blurry. She tried to hit the woman and get her off of her but that wasn´t so easy considering that she saw everything twice. Then the first punch hit her in the face followed by a second one.  
When Raelle could feel the fist connecting with her face for the third time her thoughts automatically wandered to Scylla. Just thinking about her Soulmate and having to imagine how much she would freak out when she would find out what happened and that Raelle got hurt was enough for the blond to finally gain control over her body again.   
The blond blocked the next punch which irritated her Attacker just long enough for Raelle to place her hands around the woman´s neck and strangle her switching places in the process. Now Raelle was on top of her attacker, pinning her to the ground.   
“Are you alone?” Raelle asked through gritted teeth.   
“We are everywhere” the Terrorist said with a sadistic smile on her face.   
“Your mother couldn´t stop us and she paid the price for it and you will do the same Raelle Collar!” the woman said. Raelle looked at her confused but before they could exchange another word Raelle heard footsteps approaching fast. Not a second later Tally and Abigail rounded the corner and came running in Raelles direction.   
That was the moment when Raelle felt a sharp pain explode in her stomach. She looked down only to see how a knife was pulled out of her. 

“RAELLE!” She heard Tally and Abigail shout at the same time and then she felt that same sharp pain again and again and again. Raelle could feel that she was about to lose consciousness, but she would make sure that her attacker would not get away, so she punched her with every bit of strength she had left right in the face, knocking her out successfully. 

Raelle let herself fall to the floor, lying beside the person who caused all this mess. She touched her stomach and felt her hand become wet immediately.   
That´s not good she thought to herself. A few seconds later Tally fell on her knees beside Raelle trying to stop the bleeding and keep her awake, but she was just so tired, and her eyelids were so heavy.   
“Raelle, I need you to stay awake okay?” Tally said starting to panic.  
“I´m tired Tally…” Raelle whispered.  
“I know that you are but it´s important that you stay awake. If you can´t do it for yourself then do it for Scylla okay?” Tally answered.  
Scylla. Her beautiful Soulmate who had wrapped her around her little finger the second they met. They barely had time together since they found each other but Raelle was sure that Scylla was her happy ending. The brunette had stolen her heart in a matter of seconds and Raelle was completely okay with it. She couldn´t think of a better home for it.   
Raelle tried very hard to stay awake but she knew that it was only a matter of time until she would lose consciousness because of the blood lost but she needed to be sure that Scylla would be informed. That someone told her what happened.   
Raelle grabbed Tally´s hand and said weakly   
“You need to call her. Tell her what happened. She needs to know, Tall…” That was everything Raelle could say before she fainted. 

\----- At the same time -----

Scylla couldn´t shake off that dumb feeling that something was wrong since she watched Raelle leave her apartment in the morning. She tried to ignore it, to not overthink and drive herself crazy and for a while it worked. What was helping her immensely to distract herself was work. The restaurant was already packed when she showed up to begin her shift in the kitchen. The hours were passing quickly but at one point that dumb feeling that Scylla felt earlier came rushing back to her. Stronger than before and then everything fell into chaos.   
The police came into the Restaurant saying that everyone had to leave immediately, evacuating the whole street. Scylla took her stuff and left the building.  
She followed the police until he assured them that everything would be okay and that they all would be safe here. Soon after Scylla could hear the chatter beginning but what she heard made her want to throw up. Apparently, this was another Attack from the Spree who placed bombs all over town. Scylla knew what this meant. It meant that Raelle was somewhere out there, near one of those stupid bombs trying to stop the Spree from getting what they wanted and all she could do was wait and hope that the blond woman was okay. 

Two hours later Scylla was opening the door to her apartment. She threw her stuff to the side and walked into the living room sitting on her couch with her phone in her hands. She had tried to call Raelle multiple times and left a few messages but she still hadn´t heard something from her which caused her bad feeling to get even worse. She had started to walk through her apartment, as worried as she never was before, waiting impatiently to get a call or a text from Raelle to let her know that she was okay, but nothing came. 

After about an hour of pacing around her apartment her phone began to ring. She looked at the screen hoping to see Raelles name on it but instead it was a number she didn´t knew. She picked up and said curiously   
“Hello?”   
“Hey, are you Scylla?” a friendly female voice said.  
“Yeah, that´s me but who are you?” the brunette asked irritated.  
“My name is Tally Craven. You don´t know me but you know my friend and colleague Raelle…” the voice said. As soon as Scylla heard Raelles name she knew that something was wrong.   
“What happened to her? Is she okay?” Scylla asked while holding back her tears.   
“She got hurt and lost a lot of blood. She is currently in surgery, we don´t know more at the moment. Before she lost consciousness, she asked me to call you and tell you what happened. I think it would be for the best if you would come to the hospital. Raelle will want to see you when she is going to wake up. If you want, I can send you someone who picks you up at home and brings you here?” Tally said.   
“Yeah, that is probably a good idea.” Scylla answered. Before they ended the call, Scylla gave Tally her address so that someone could come pick her up. 

After they ended the call Scylla doesn´t remember much. All she could think about was that Raelle was hurt and was in surgery. She pushed her tears back, she didn´t have the time to break down. She needed to get ready and go to the hospital to see her Soulmate. She needed to be by her side. She needed to let Raelle know that she was there and that she wouldn´t leave. 

40 minutes later Scylla followed the man, who picked her up, into the hospital. After walking for about five minutes he stopped in front of two women, nodded his head and left Scylla with them.   
“Hello, Scylla. I´m Tally and this is Abigail.” Tally said while giving Scylla a sad smile.   
“Thank you for calling me” Scylla answered shortly.  
“Come, sit down. We are still waiting for some news.” Tally said while pointing at one of the chairs. Scylla only nodded and sat down beside Tally. They fell into an uncomfortable silence after that and waited. 

Scylla had the feeling that she would lose her mind if she had to wait any longer to get any information about Raelles well-being. She was about to stand up and look for someone she could ask when a tall man made his way over to the three women. He looked at Scylla, raised an eyebrow. Tally noticed this and said immediately   
“It´s okay. She belongs to us.” The man only nodded his head before starting to speak.  
“Miss Collar had already lost a lot of blood when she came here. The wounds had caused more damage than we thought which led to complications during the surgery. We had to revive her twice before we were able to stop her eternal bleeding, but the surgery was still a success and we are positive that Agent Collar will have a full recovery. She is a real fighter. For now, we just have to wait until she wakes up.”

Hearing the man say that Raelle had to be revived twice was too much for Scylla. She let herself fall into the chair behind her and buried her face in her hands, finally letting her tears escape. She had almost lost Raelle. All of this felt so surreal for Scylla. She went from almost dying to finding her Soulmate to almost losing said Soulmate. All of it in a matter of a few weeks. She just started to find out all of those things about Raelle and get to know her better. They needed way more time together. Scylla swore herself that she would find a way to see Raelle regularly. She wouldn´t waste another second with her Soulmate. She knew that it sounded crazy and she only knew Raelle for a few weeks, but they talked almost every night on the phone for several hours and the few times they were together everything just felt right for Scylla. When she was lying in Raelle´s arms, listening to her heartbeat, she felt whole. She felt like she had finally found a place that she could call her home. Maybe it was crazy, and the future was uncertain for her but there was one thing Scylla was sure about and that were her feelings for Raelle. The brunette knew she was doomed to lose her heart to the other woman the first time they talked in the parking lot and after what happened today, she didn´t wanted to act like she wasn´t already completely in love with Raelle.

Scylla was ripped out of her thoughts when a hand touched her shoulder gently. She looked up and saw Tally smiling at her.   
“You should go see her. I will talk to the staff, so they let you stay in her room over the night.” The woman before her said and all Scylla could do was nod her head yes and whisper a thank you.   
She stood up and followed a nurse who was showing her the way to the room Raelle was laying in. Before she entered, she needed a moment to collect herself and prepare for what she would see in there. She took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping inside. 

As soon as her eyes fell on Raelle nothing could hold her back anymore. She closed the door, walked further into the room and grab herself a chair. She placed it right beside Raelle´s bed and sat down, taking her hand in her own and kissing it softly.   
“Hey babe, I´m sorry it took me so long to get to you…” Scylla said. She hoped that Raelle could hear her or at least feel her presence.   
“The doctor told us that your heart stopped beating twice…” saying it out loud for the first time made it real for Scylla and brought new tears into her eyes.   
“God, I almost lost you today Raelle…” After that Scylla wasn´t able to say another word. She started crying until she fell asleep with her head on Raelles bed and her hand still holding Raelles.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :)
> 
> as always feel free to let me know what you think by leaving a comment and kudos. 
> 
> Enjoy the next Chapter! 
> 
> Ashisa :)

Chapter 7

When Raelle awoke she needed a moment to figure out where she was. She looked around, saw all those machines and all those needles in her arm and realized that she was at the hospital but why the hell was she there? What had happened?   
She tried to sit up only to hiss in pain and let herself fall back but that was the moment that everything came crushing down on her. She remembered everything from her morning with Scylla to the moment she could feel the sharp pain in her stomach over and over again when she got stabbed.   
Raelle tried to sit up again but this time slowly. How long was she out? Had Tally informed Scylla? Was Scylla okay or did something happen to her? Raelle couldn´t just sit there and do nothing. She needed to find answers to all these questions. 

She pulled back her blanket and swung her feet out of the bed and stood up slowly. She could feel the pain radiate from her stomach and also a lite dizziness but that wouldn´t stop her. She ripped out all those things that were connected to her arms and fingers and walked slowly over to the door, hand on her stomach, trying to ignore the pain. She opened the door and left her room. She had absolutely no idea which way was the right so she just decided that she would take the right one. 

She made her way through the hallway, walking for quite some time, trying to find someone she could ask what day it was or where she could find a phone when two nurses came running towards her looking frantically at her.   
“Miss Collar you are not allowed to stand up. Let alone walk. You have to go back and lie down” one of the nurses said, touching her arm wanting to lead her back to the room but Raelle had other plans.   
“No, I won´t go so stop touching me!” the blond said angrily.   
“You´re in no condition to stand for that long! You´re injuries are not a joke!” the other nurse said annoyed of her behavior.   
“I don´t care. I´m not going back to this room until I got what I wanted so get out of my way and leave me alone” Raelle said through gritted teeth. The annoyed nurse was about to say something when he was interrupted, and a furious voice was heard behind the blond saying  
“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” Raelle recognized the voice immediately. She looked at the two nurses looking slightly frightened and whispered to them   
“It´s probably better if you go now. I can assure you I will be back in my bed in a few Minutes because she is going to kill me if I don´t do it.” The two men looked at her for a second and then over her shoulder before they nodded and left. Raelle couldn´t help the smile that emerged on her face before she turned around slowly. She looked at the woman who was standing only a few feet away looking furiously at her.   
“Hello beautiful” was all Raelle said. Not a second later she was pulled into a careful and soft hug before Scylla captured her lips with her own. When they parted Scylla had tears in her eyes and could only whisper   
“I was so worried about you. You can´t just do that! You can´t just disappear and walk around after you were unconscious for 4 days. I almost had a heart attack when I walked into your room and you were gone.” Raelle frowned and asked confused  
“Wait what?” but she couldn´t say more when a wave of pain washed through her body. Maybe she should have listened to the nurses when they said she was in no condition to stand for long or that she shouldn´t walk at all. Scylla was at her side in a matter of seconds with worry written all over her face.   
“We need to get you to your room. You need to lay down!” she said and all Raelle could do was nod her head and let Scylla lead her to her room slowly. 

It took them about ten minutes to get back to the room and when they did Raelle was pale and breathing heavy. Scylla immediately tucked her in bed and wanted to get a doctor when Raelle stopped her by taking her hand.   
“I´m fine just give me a minute to catch my breath and I will be as good as new” the blond said but that only caused Scylla to get angry apparently.   
“You´re fine? FINE?! You are far from fine Raelle!” she almost screamed at her before she pulled her hand out of Raelles and started pacing through the room while continuing to talk.  
“What the hell was that even for a stupid idea? Why would you leave your bed just after waking up? Do you know what could have happened? Did you even think for one second? We were all worried about you for the last four days, waiting patiently for you to wake up again and then when you finally do you decide to walk around after you got badly injured and almost died because of it? What was so important to you that you had the urge to do something so extremely dumb?” Scylla came to a stop at the end of Raelles bed and looked at her with a mixture of anger and expectation. Raelle knew she should not only think about how beautiful Scylla looked even when she was angry at her but she just couldn´t stop herself because it was the truth. Scylla really did look beautiful. Of course, Raelle could see the dark circles under her Soulmates eyes and how exhausted she looked. She knew that she was the reason for it, that she did this to her and Raelle hated herself for causing Scylla pain.   
Raelle needed to look away from Scylla, her guilty conscience just too much for her.   
She starred at her fingers, not looking up for one second while whispering   
“I´m sorry I caused you so much pain… it was just when I woke up, I needed a moment to remember everything and when I did, I had no other choice. You weren´t there and I just had to find you or at least get a phone to call you so I could hear your voice. I´m really sorry…”   
Scylla could hear the regret in Raelles words and besides that how could she stay mad at the woman after hearing that the only reason she did it was to find her or some way to reach out to her?   
“When I walked in here and saw your empty bed, I had all these worst-case scenarios in my head and I just started to panic…” Scylla said now exhausted. Raelle didn´t look up, she just couldn´t and Scylla noticed it.   
The brunette made her way to Raelle and sat right beside her.  
“Look at me baby. I haven´t waited four long days for you to wake up just so you could hide your gorgeous face from me and on top of that you know I don´t like it when you refuse to look at me.” Raelle still refused to look up so Scylla put two fingers under her chin and softly forced the blond to look at her.   
“I´m sorry that your life is such a mess since I´m in it” Raelle finally said, remorse in her voice.   
Scylla was at a loss of words after hearing that. She really didn´t expected to hear that coming out of Raelle´s mouth. All she could manage to do was stare at the woman in front of her. Apparently, Scylla´s silence seemed to be some kind of confirmation for Raelle that she was right because the blond removed Scylla´s finger from under her chin and started to look out of the window before she started to speak again quietly.  
“I know that you must be disappointed that life has given you a Soulmate like me. If I could change it so that you could get someone who deserves you and would make your life better and not messier I would do it.” 

What Raelle couldn´t see was the rage forming on Scylla´s face after her words.   
“Are you seriously thinking such things? That my life is worse instead of better since you´ve been in it?” the brunette said trying to contain her anger. Raelle didn´t turn her head towards the other woman despite hearing the anger in Scylla´s voice. It took every bit of will power to be honest but Raelle knew that if she would look at her Soulmate right now, she would break.   
“I think it´s pretty clear. I mean look around and where you are. We know each other for only a short amount of time and all I did was cause you a lot of worry and now even pain. Since we found out that we´re Soulmates we barley seen each other because of my work, all I could give you were some phone calls and messages. You can´t say that your happy this way. That you have absolutely no regrets or that you wish things were different.” Raelle said.

The next thing Raelle saw we´re two piercing blue eyes starring angrily at her.  
“That´s enough. I haven´t spent the last four days in here, worrying sick about you to hear such bullshit now. Yes, we only know each other a short amount of time and yes, we haven´t seen each other much but these phone calls and messages were better than nothing. They were my highlight of the day. The few times I spent with you in person are everything to me. They gave me the strength to get through every day since you got here. I mean of course I can´t say that I don´t have regrets and that I wouldn´t wish that some things were different but my only regret is that I haven´t tried everything to see you more often and my only wish is to change that so I can spent more time with you. Yes, my life is a lot messier with you in it, but I don´t want to change that because that would mean changing you and I don´t want to change you” Scylla took a deep breath before she continued. All the anger left her eyes and were removed with a look of pure love and adoration. “Before I met you my life was nothing special. Every day was just like the other and I hated it. I was lonely and sad, and I wished for someone to come and rescue me. Then I met you and I knew from the second I laid my eyes on you that you would change my life and you did. You turned my world upside down and I couldn´t be happier about it. Raelle you gave me a reason to enjoy life again, you gave me a purpose. I don´t want to hear you saying something like that ever again not when you are the reason why I love being here. Not when you are the reason why I have all these hopes and dreams about my future. I´m not going to waste any more time with you once you’re out of here. We will find a way to see each other more often, for example I could come to your place when you are done with work and sleep there. That way we would spend more time together. We will find a way I promise you.” Scylla forced herself to stop talking before she would confess Raelle her feelings right that moment. She was sure about them but she didn´t knew if Raelle would be ready to hear it.   
“You really have a way with words, do you know that?” Raelle said with a little smile on her face.  
“Maybe” Scylla answered with a grin on her face. 

As much as Raelle loved seeing Scylla relax she needed to know what exactly happened, so she took one of Scylla´s hands and kissed it gently before she got serious again and started talking.   
“I´m sorry I have to kind of ruin the mood again, but I need to know what happened after I got here…”   
Scylla´s grin fell from her face immediately but Raelle could see the understanding in her eyes. The brunette took a deep breath, collecting herself, before she started to tell Raelle everything she wanted to know. 

As soon as Scylla finished telling Raelle everything the blond slid carefully to the side to make room for Scylla to lay down beside her but all Raelle got was a confused look from the brunette which caused Raelle to start laughing but she stopped shortly after the first wave of pain washed over her sucking in painfully. She could see the worry in Scylla´s eyes so she hurried to say   
“Well laughing is not a good idea for a little while, but I should have known that.” She smiled at Scylla to assure her that she was fine and when she could see that the worry in the brunette’s eyes subsided, she patted on the free spot beside her.   
“Lay down, I know you haven´t slept much the last few days, considering the bags under your eyes so it´s time for you to finally get some rest.” The blond said while opening her arms. Not a second later Scylla was cuddled up against her side carefully and let out a happy sight, eyes already closed and on her way to the land of dreams. 

Raelle watched the woman in her eyes for a while, holding her close, when she could feel her eyelids getting heavy. She leaned forward and gave Scylla a soft kiss on her forehead.   
“I love you, Scyl” she whispered before closing her eyes and falling asleep herself with a smile on her face.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys, 
> 
> life's a little bit crazy right now so I might not be able to upload regularly unfortunately.   
> I´m still going to try to not let it get out of hand.
> 
> Now enough is said for the moment so please enjoy the new chapter and as always let me know what you think!   
> I am always happy to read your comments and I am really grateful for every Kudo you guys leave. 
> 
> Also a big THANK YOU for all the love you have given me and my story so far. It truly means a lot to me!! 
> 
> Stay Safe & Healthy 
> 
> Ashisa :)

Chapter 8

Raelle had to stay at the hospital for a week before the doctor finally told her that she could go home if she would do what they told her and rest. No work, no heavy lifting or anything else who could reopen her wounds. Scylla immediately assured the doctor that she would take care of Raelle and that she would make sure that she would stay in bed and rest. Apparently, that was everything the doctor needed to hear because an hour later Raelle left the hospital with Scylla by her side. 

After driving for half an hour with a cab they finally arrived at Raelles apartment. They got out of the car and Raelle went to grab her back out of the trunk while Scylla paid the driver. When the brunette turned around and saw Raelle standing there, carrying her bag, she frowned. She quickly made her way over to her and took the bag from her.   
“You heard the doctor. You need rest, no lifting or anything.” Scylla said.  
“It was only a bag, it´s not even heavy Scyl.” Raelle answered while giggling.   
“I don´t care. I told the doctor I would take care of you and that is exactly what I´m going to do so better get used to it babe.” Scylla said with a smirk, gave Raelle a quick kiss on the lips and grabbed her keys in the process making her way over to the door. The blond could only smile and shake her head before she followed her Soulmate inside and up the stairs to her apartment. 

When Raelle walked into her apartment she could feel herself relax instantly. She was glad to finally be in her own four walls. She was sick of that typical hospital smell and she couldn´t wait to take a shower to wash it off and put on some fresh clothes. Raelle was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw Scylla looking expectantly at her.   
“I´m sorry what did you say?” Raelle asked.  
“I said I wasn´t able to go grocery shopping before you were released so how about we order something in today and tomorrow I will cook for you whatever you want?” Scylla asked with a little frown on her face.  
“Yeah sure we can do that. I have a few flyers in the kitchen just look through them and pick one. Order whatever you want, and I will be okay with it.” The blond said with a small smile.  
“Hey, you okay?” Scylla asked still frowning.  
“Yeah, I´m going to take a shower. Be right back.” Raelle said and left Scylla alone. 

When Raelle got out of the shower all traces of hospital smell were gone which helped her relax even more. She dried herself with her towel before she looked at her stomach for the first time. She carefully let her fingers trace her injuries, releasing and trembling sight before changing the bandages. She already was too long in the bathroom and she was definitely standing for too long considering the pain starting to radiate of her stomach so she got dressed as fast as she could and got back to the living room. 

Raelle saw Scylla standing outside on the balcony with her back to the blond so Raelle ignored the screams from her body to sit down and went outside. She made her way over to Scylla and pulled her into a loving embrace, placing a soft kiss in the crook of her neck.   
They stood there for a while in complete silence just starring at the sky, enjoying the moment of piece.   
“There was a moment where I thought that we would never have something like this…” Scylla broke the silence whispering.   
“You know I was never afraid of dying, that hasn´t changed, but now I have a reason again. A reason to at least try to stay alive and come home. After my Mom was gone, my father lost it. He got addicted to alcohol. I tried to help him, got him into rehab multiple times but he always relapsed and at one point I just stopped trying to help him. Not because I stopped loving him, but I just realized that I can´t help someone who doesn´t want help. I barely see him anymore and when I do or when I talk to him, he is drunk… losing my mom was hard for me, really hard, but I guess for him it was worse and I never understood him or his pain completely. A part of me even hated him.” Raelle said deep in thoughts before she continued talking. “I kind of understand him now. I understand why he lost it, lost himself. I don´t know what I would do if I ever lose you.” 

Raelle stayed silent after that, her mind still far away, forgetting everything around her. The only thing keeping her grounded was the woman in her arms. The blond concentrated on Scylla´s breathing, ignoring the begs from her body to finally sit down and rest. She wanted that moment to last for a little while longer so she decided that she could cope with the pain a few more minutes. 

At one-point Raelle started to lose control over her body, she tensed up and her hand began to shake lightly which Scylla immediately noticed. She turned around in Raelles arms and looked in her pale face. The brunette could see that Raelle tried to hide that she was in pain just by looking in her eyes.   
“You need to sit down. Why didn´t you say anything, Rae?” Scylla asked while taking Raelles hand, leading her inside to the couch in the living room.   
“I didn´t wanted the moment to end. I´m sorry, Beautiful.” Raelle answered sheepishly. 

As soon as the couch was near Raelle laid down and closed her eyes. She could feel Scylla´s worried look on her which caused her to open her eyes again and force a smile on her face. She sat up only to motion for Scylla to sit down. When the brunette did Raelle laid down again, placing her head in her Soulmates lab, closing her eyes again. Raelle started to focus on Scylla´s breathing and soon she could feel herself relax again and the pain getting weaker.   
She could feel Scylla´s finger playing with her hair which calmed her down even more and so she started to drift off to sleep but before she could the doorbell rang, indicating that their food had arrived. Scylla got up, carefully not to hurt Raelle, and went to the door to get the food. Raelle was about to get up and help Scylla with the food when she heard the other woman say, “Stay where you are and relax, I got it covered.”   
“You know I can help right?” Raelle answered with a smirk. When Scylla walked into the living room with two plates in hand she answered.  
“I know that you can, but I won´t allow it. I said I would take care of you and your doctor took me by my word so I will do exactly that. Just enjoy it babe.”   
“I just don´t want you to think that you have to do this because you don´t. I appreciate everything you do for me and even more I appreciate the time we have together, but I really don´t want you to feel used or something like that…” Raelle said while taking one of the plates.   
“Don´t worry I don´t feel used. It´s quite the opposite actually. I feel extremely privileged that I´m allowed to take care of you and I enjoy the extra time together a lot.” The brunette said with a smile and sat down beside Raelle. The blond only nodded before she started to eat. 

When they were done Raelle took Scylla´s plate before she could say anything and went to the kitchen to clean them. Of course, Scylla followed her, trying to convince her to let her do the dishes but Raelle was stubborn. Scylla´s intention was sweet but Raelle couldn´t just sit around and let her Soulmate do all the work. That was something she couldn´t cope with. 

When she was done, she finally turned around looking at Scylla standing behind her with crossed arms shaking her head. If it wasn´t for that cute little smile on her face Raelle would have thought that the brunette might be mad at her.   
“What am I going to do with you and that stubborn little head of yours Raelle Collar?” the brunette said while pulling Raelle in her arms.   
“I have absolutely no idea, beautiful” Raelle said laughing, pulling Scylla even closer. 

The blond couldn´t take her gaze away from her Soulmates lips. She was completely hypnotized by them and when Scylla bit on her lower lip the blond lost every inch of self-control. She laid a hand on Scylla´s cheek and closed the distance between them connecting their lips. Raelle was sure she would never get tired of the feeling of Scylla´s lips on hers and how the woman in her arms let her heart beat like crazy. It didn´t take long for the kiss to get heated and more passionate but before they could go too far Scylla broke it and brought a little distance between the two of them.   
“As much as I want to take this further and believe me, I would really like to take it further, we can´t. We have to wait a little bit babe” she said slightly out of breath.   
“I know, I just got carried away a little bit, I´m sorry. I will behave from now on” Raelle answered giggling. Scylla could only shake her head with a huge smile on her face. A smile that Raelle absolutely loved.   
“Want to join me on the couch again? It was really comfortable earlier…” the blond said with a grin.  
“Sounds perfect but let me get changed into something more comfortable okay? I will be with you in a sec.” the brunette said smiling before heading out of the kitchen towards the bedroom. Raelle looked after her for a moment before she made her way over to the living room. She turned on some music and sat down, waiting for her Soulmate to come back to her. 

Luckily Scylla was really fast so after a few minutes she came walking into the living room, changed into black sweatpants and a white top. Raelle could only think about how gorgeous the brunette looked. No matter what Scylla was wearing she managed to take away Raelles breath.   
The blond just stared at her Soulmate, a loving smile on her face.   
“What is it?” Scylla asked laughing while sitting down beside Raelle.  
“Nothing, you just look absolutely beautiful…” the blond said while taking Scylla´s hand and placing a soft kiss on it which caused the brunette to blush.  
“Stop it, Rae. There is no way that I look beautiful right now in this outfit…” the brunette said blushing even more.  
“It doesn´t matter what you wear. In my eyes you look beautiful in everything. You manage to take my breath away even more with that gorgeous smile on your face.” Raelle answered and got a small shy smile as a reward. 

The blond leaned forward and gave the brunette a soft kiss on the cheek before she laid down, placing her head in Scylla´s lap again. The brunette began to play with Raelles hair, looking through the window, deep in thoughts.   
Raelle observed her for quite some time before she took Scylla´s hand as a way to pull her out of her mind. She waited until those beautiful blue eyes were looking at her before she spoke.  
“Something is bothering you… do you want to tell me? Maybe I can help…” Raelle looked at her with hopeful eyes and waited. She could see that Scylla contemplated if she should tell her or not and Raelle waited patiently for her to decide which didn´t take long. Scylla cleared her throat before.   
“I had to think about what you told me earlier, about your father. That was the second time that you shared something so personal with me and it made me really happy. I mean the thing with your father is terrible and I wish I could change it for you but that you were willing to tell me that made me realize that I never told you anything about myself, at least nothing so personal…” the brunette said. She wanted to continue but Raelle interrupted her.  
“It´s okay. You don´t have to tell me anything when you´re not ready. I can wait. You don´t need to feel forced to tell me something just because I told you about my parents.”  
“I want to tell you about them but I´m afraid of your reaction. My parents were everything to me. They loved me with every sell in their body´s. I couldn´t have wished for a better family. We moved around constantly because of dad´s work so I learned that it´s better to have no attachments because things would go away. We would go away. It wasn´t always easy but I got used to it eventually. When I was sixteen, I overheard mom and dad talking about an Organization they were a part of. They wanted to leave them. I heard them say that they could no longer work for them with a good conscience. I didn´t understand what they meant but I was too afraid to ask about it, so I kept quiet. A few days later my mom woke me up in the middle of the night. She meant that I need to get up and hide immediately. She made me promise to stay hidden no matter what I would hear, and I did. Shortly after I heard my Dad yell at someone to leave us alone. He said they were done. That was the moment I heard the first gunshot followed by the sound of my Mother begging for her life. The Intruder just laughed at her and said…” Scylla´s voice broke. Raelle could see the tears and the pain in her eyes. She sat up and pulled the brunette in a soft embrace.   
“It´s okay, Scyl. I´m here. You don´t have to continue.” The blond said.   
“No, I need to tell you.” Scylla said while pulling away. She took a deep breath before she finished her Sentence.   
“He said that nobody betrays the Spree. Then I heard the second gunshot.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys,
> 
> I´m finally back with a new chapter. 
> 
> As always let me know what you think and leave a comment and/or a kudo for me :)
> 
> Stay safe & healthy 
> 
> Ashisa :)

Chapter 9

Raelle was unable to say something. She could feel her whole body tense, the shock from what she was told a few minutes ago seeping in. She stood up and walked to the window, trying very hard to process the new information. The Group Raelle wanted to stop killed Scylla´s parents but not just that, her parents were also a part of them. Why was everything so complicated Raelle thought to herself while starring out of the window. 

It was quiet for some time until Scylla broke it and spoke up.   
“Please say something…” she said begging but Raelle remained silent, too deep in her thoughts.   
“They were good people, who made a terrible mistake. I was so angry at them but at some point, I realized that they wanted to get out when the Spree started killing innocent civilians. I know it doesn´t make up for them being a part of them but I guess they already payed the price for their mistake…” the brunette said while standing up and walking closer to Raelle.   
“Raelle, please say something. Scream at me, tell me that you want me to leave and never see me again just say something…” Scylla said desperately.  
“This is a lot Scyl. I don´t know what to say or to think I mean they were a part of the Spree, the group I´m trying to stop so desperately, who almost killed me…” Raelle said in a reflective voice.   
“I know okay? I know that it´s a lot and I know that they almost killed you. How could I forget? I just had to tell you. I couldn´t hide it from you any longer. You needed to know. I could understand if you want to stop seeing me…” Scylla answered. 

Raelle turned around, looking at Scylla´s with determination.   
“I just need time to process this, but I won´t allow you to leave. You said they were good people and I believe you. They protected you and that´s all I need to know about them. All I know for sure is that I will bring the Spree down. I´m even more determined than before. They will pay for what they did to you and your family okay?” Raelle took Scylla´s face in her hands “No matter what I´m with you.” The blond finished talking and gave the brunette a soft kiss on the forehead.   
“I just want you to be safe out there and that you come back to me Rae…” Scylla whispered, a tear escaping her eye and running down her cheek.   
“I will be careful when I´m out there but I will stop them. They are going to pay for what they did to you and all the other innocent people.” Raelle said before her phone began vibrating. She gave Scylla another kiss on the forehead before she made her way over to her phone reading the message she became. A smile forming on her face which didn´t go unnoticed by her Soulmate.   
“What is it?” Scylla asked curiously.  
“It´s a message from Tally. I asked her for a favor and now she is waiting in front of the house for me to get it. I will be back in a minute beautiful” Raelle said before leaving her apartment. 

When she exited the house, the blond was immediately pulled in a tight hug by her red headed friend.   
“I´m so glad you´re okay, Rae!” Tally said with a relieved voice.  
“It´s good to see you too Tal and I really missed your hugs but your hurting me.” Raelle said. The read head immediately let go of her friend.  
“Oh my God I´m so sorry Rae. It wasn´t my intention to hurt you. I was just so happy to see you.” Tally said   
“It´s okay, Tally. I know that you didn´t do it on purpose. It just needs a little bit more time before you can give me those bearhugs again.” Raelle said laughing lightly before getting more serious.   
“Did you get what I asked you for?” Raelle asked excited.  
“Yeah, wasn’t a problem at all. You sure you want to do that? I mean it´s a big step for you and you don´t know her that long.” Tally asked a little bit concerned.  
“I was never so sure about something in my life before. She is it for me Tally, I just know it so why should I wait any longer? It´s time to make the first step.” Raelle said smiling.   
“I´m happy for you Rae and just so you know, I like her” the read head said laughing.   
“Yeah me too Tal” the blond said also laughing.   
“So, when are you going to ask her?” Tally asked with excitement in her voice.   
“I´m not sure if I should do it tonight or wait a little bit longer so I can plan a nice romantic dinner or something…” Raelle said getting nervous. Tally could only smile at her friend.   
“I´m pretty sure it won´t matter to her. You know she is completely in love with you right? I saw it when she got to the hospital and the days after. She never left your side. Abigail and I had to practically force her to eat or go for a walk.” Tally said softly. Hearing her friend say that helped Raelle with her decision.   
“I´m going to ask her when I get back inside. Thank you, Tal, for helping me!” the blond said.  
“Anytime and now go to your Soulmate and ask her. Let me know what she said even if I already know her answer” Tally said laughing while handing Raelle something.   
The two women hugged each other as goodbye before Raelle got back inside and went up the stairs to her apartment. 

Before she opened the door, she took a few deep breaths. She knew that Scylla would ask her what this was all about. She could feel herself getting nervous again. Tally was right for her it was a big deal. She never did something like that, hell she never wanted something like that before she met the brunette but what she said was true. She was never so sure about anything in her life, so she just got her shit together and opened the door, entering her apartment. 

She found Scylla in the living room, sitting on the couch playing with her fingers nervously. The blond thought that is was kind of cute how nervous her Soulmate looked, with that little frown on her face and the fumbling with her fingers. She watched her a little bit longer, admiring her but it seemed like Scylla noticed Raelles presence because after a few seconds she turned around, looking directly at her.   
“I thought for a minute that Tally maybe kidnapped you or something” Scylla said with a little nervous laugh. Raelle shook her head and walked over to the brunette, taking a seat next to her.   
“No, she almost killed me with a hug but that’s all.” Raelle answered smiling.   
After that they fell into an uncomfortable silence but Scylla couldn´t take it for long. The brunette was way to curious and just had to ask what this was all about.   
“So, are you going to tell me what this was about or…?” the brunette asked curiously. Raelle´s smile fell for a few seconds, her nervousness taking over, but she was able to catch herself quickly. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to ask what she wanted to ask, before she took Scylla´s hand and began to speak.   
“I had a lot of time to think while my visit at the hospital. A lot happened and so much has changed. My life turned upside down since you came into it and I admit that sometimes it´s really overwhelming for me because I´m used to be alone but with you everything feels just so right. One night I couldn´t sleep. You were lying in my arms and you looked so peaceful. I started thinking about the what if´s for quite some time until I realized I don´t want to ask myself all those questions. I don´t know how long I will be on this earth or how long I will have you by my side. Nobody can answer me this, but I don´t want to waste more time. I don´t want to regret anything when it comes to you, so I decided that I needed to take actions, that I needed to ask you something. That night I wrote Tally asking for her help.”  
Raelle could see the confusion on Scylla´s face and shortly after the brunette began to speak.  
“This doesn´t really answered anything. It only caused more confusion and more questions, Babe.”  
Raelle had to laugh. She looked at Scylla lovingly.  
“I know. Don´t worry you will understand soon. I have two questions for you, Beautiful. It´s not easy for me to do something like that. This is completely new for me so please be nice okay?” the blond said with a little nervous laugh at the end. She took another deep breath before she continued to speak.   
“We never really talked about what exactly we are. I mean we know we are Soulmates but that doesn´t mean we have to be together. I don´t want you to feel forced to be with me, I hope you know that. I can only speak for myself right now. I know I want to be with you. I want to be able to call you mine in front of others. I want them to know that you are taken. I know there is still a lot to learn about each other, but I really like you and I´m 100% sure that I want to be with you, no matter what. I really hope that you would like that too so what I´m trying to ask is if you want to be my girlfriend?”   
Raelle was way too nervous to look at Scylla so she just stared at their hands, starting to play with the brunette’s fingers, heart beating like crazy while waiting for an answer. 

A hand softly cupped Raelle´s face, forcing her to look up and when she did, she met blue eyes full of emotion.   
“Don´t even think for one second that I don´t want to be with you or that I feel forced because of that Soulmate thing. You are the best thing that happened to me, Raelle. Of course, I want to be with you. I want the same things you do. I want to tell people about you, tell them that you are mine and how happy you make me.” Scylla said softly.   
“Does that mean what I think it means…?” Raelle asked unsure.   
“Yes, I will be your girlfriend.” Scylla said with a little laugh.  
After hearing this Raelle pulled Scylla on her lap and gave her a loving kiss. Both of them got lost a little but when they needed to part to breathe Raelles brain started to work again. Remembering that she had another question for the woman in her lap which made her nervous again. Scylla noticed the little change in Raelle but decided to stay quiet which Raelle was thankful for. She needed a moment to think over her words and prepare for it.   
So far everything went pretty good for her and she really hoped that it would continue that way. 

When she had enough courage, she reached into her pocket and pulled out what Tally had given to her not long ago. She looked at Scylla, eyes full of love, and began to speak.   
“I have another question for you but please don´t freak out. You can say no when it´s too fast for you okay?”   
Scylla could feel herself getting nervous but curious at the same time. She didn´t know what to say so she just nodded her head as a sign for Raelle to continue.   
“I meant what I said before. I don´t want to regret anything when it comes to you, I don´t want to waste more time we could have spent together so I asked Tally to get me this.” Raelle opened her hand and showed Scylla what was inside before she continued to speak.   
“This is the key to my apartment. I want you to be able to come over whenever you want. I want you to feel at home here. I will make some space for you in the bedroom and bathroom so you can bring some of your stuff over. If you want, you can bring all your stuff over and I will make a lot of space for you. I wouldn´t mind a bit but only if you want that too. I know this seems a bit rushed but after everything I would really like it to come home to you after a long day. Just knowing that you would be here, that I could pull you in my arms, fall asleep with you in them makes me happy.” Raelle finished with a blush on her cheeks, her gaze on the floor. She waited for an answer and when she didn´t receive one she looked up. Scylla was looking intensely at the Key in Raelle´s hand, a tear running down her face. Before Raelle could say something, the brunette opened her mouth and whispered   
“You want me to move in?” Raelle could feel a lump forming in her throat and a heavy weight sitting down on her chest. Doubts filling her head immediately. Maybe she should have waited longer for the second question. For a moment she contemplated to hit herself a few times for being so stupid, but her thoughts were interrupted by Scylla who threw herself in Raelles arms, kissing her passionately.

Raelles brain needed a moment to catch up on what was happening but when it did, she pulled the women in her arms even closer and kissed her back with as much passion and love she had in her tiny body.  
When they needed to break apart to breathe Raelle looked at Scylla questioningly.   
“Are you really sure you want me to move in?” Scylla asked with a small voice, still a little bit out of breath.   
“I was never so sure about anything in my life. You are my future Scylla. After my mom died and the thing with my dad happened nothing felt like home. When you came into my life, that changed. I feel like I have a place where I belong. When you are here this apartment feels like a home to me so why wouldn´t I want this to be permanent?” the blond asked softly. 

Instead of an answer Scylla pulled Raelle closer and kissed her passionately. When they separated the brunette smiled brightly at the woman in her arms.   
“I would love to move in with you” Scylla said happily. 

As soon as Raelle heard Scylla say those words the heavy feeling on her chest disappeared and she could breathe freely again. In fact, she felt a sense of happiness she hadn´t felt in a long time.   
“Thank God I really thought I made a huge mistake by asking that so soon” the blond said laughing.   
“It was a risky move but you´re lucky that I really like you. Also, you´re super cute when you´re nervous” Scylla said with a grin on her face.   
“Haha really funny” Raelle said with a smile.   
“It´s not my fault that you are so incredibly cute” Scylla said before giving Raelle a kiss on the cheek.   
“Not nearly as cute as you are Beautiful” the blond said before continuing to speak  
“If you want, we could watch a movie or two and just have a lazy rest of the day?”  
“That sounds absolutely amazing. I can make popcorn if you want?” the brunette said.  
“Not for me but thank you.” The blond said with a soft smile. She could feel exhaustion creep up on her. After all it was a pretty exciting first day at home. She handed Scylla the remote telling her to choose whatever she wanted to watch and laid down with her head in the brunette´s lap. 

Soon after laying down, Raelle could feel how Scylla began to play with her hair mindlessly while trying to find something to watch for them. She could feel how her body began to relax and to shut down. Her eyes getting heavier with every second. She tried to fight it, but it was of no use. A few Minutes later Raelle had fallen asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The last three weeks were absolutely chaotic. Besides recovering from her injuries, Raelle and Scylla managed to plan and execute the entire move within a week but with the help from Tally and even Abigail it was an easy task. Getting used to living together was the harder part. It took them a few days to getting used to it and finding their rhythm but after all Raelle never regretted her choice. She was happy. 

Another good thing was that Raelle finally had the ok from her Doctor that she could go back to work. After almost a month of being at home and doing basically nothing, because her Soulmate wouldn´t let her, she was more than glad to get back to work. She really missed it. She just loves her job. That was the reason why she got out of her car and walked straight into the huge building that was the FBI headquarter. She was way to early but she didn´t care. She decided to use the extra time wisely and went to the Gym. After all she had paused for a month, at least. She needed to get back in shape. No, she needed to get even better. 

An hour later Raelle stepped, freshly showered, out of the elevator and entered the office making her way over to her desk. She dropped her bag just besides her chair, not giving it any attention, and went straight to the kitchen to get some much needed coffee. 

When she got back with her mug, she had barely enough time to put it down before a certain redhead pulled her into a hug.   
“Tally, I can´t breathe” Raelle said with a little smile on her face.   
“I´m sorry” Tally said and let go of the blond woman “but it´s so good to have you back. I really missed you. It just wasn´t the same without you here.”   
“Believe me when I say I´m really glad to be back” Raelle said laughing.   
“Sounds like trouble in Paradise. Already regretting your decision Shitbird?” Abigail said with a bored expression.   
“I missed you too and just for the record no I´m not regretting it. I just really missed annoying your little ass. Plus, I know how lost you were without me Bellweather.” The blond said with a grin on her face.   
Instead of an answer Abigail just nodded and smirked but that was all Raelle needed. She understood what the woman meant. 

Raelle looked a few more seconds to Abigail before she shifted her attention back to Tally, who was pulling her in another crushing hug. Instead of saying something she just stayed silent and let Tally have this moment. Raelle knew that the redhead needed it. 

A few Minutes later the blond could feel that Tally slowly let go of her.  
“Better?” she asked with a smile and received an even bigger one from her friend.  
“Definitely.”   
“Good and now how about you two tell me everything that I missed?” Raelle said while looking at her colleagues expectantly, sitting down with her mug in her hand taking a sip. 

An hour later Raelle was up to date again and knew everything important. Which was a good thing considering that Anacostia Quartermaine made her way over to the three of them.   
“Collar, it´s good to have you back” she said with a nod in Raelles direction before continuing “we got new information about the spree which could help us get one step ahead of them.”   
Quartermaine gave each one of them a file with everything they needed to know.   
“I want your Team on that case. I don´t think I have to remember you how important it is to get ahead of the Spree and finally stop them. I´m counting on your Team to make progress. Did I make myself clear?” Anacostia said while looking intensely at each one of them.   
“Of course, Ma´am. We won´t let you down” Abigail said with determination in her voice.   
With one last nod Anacostia turned around and left them alone but Raelle hadn´t payed much attention to her boss. She was too caught up in the file in her hands. She couldn´t explain why but she had this feeling that she had forgotten something important. That there was something deep down in her brain that wanted to come out. She just couldn´t put her finger on it. 

The blond didn´t knew how long she was lost in her thoughts but when she looked up, she noticed that Tally and Abigail were looking at her.  
“Sorry, what did you say?” she said.  
“Are you okay, Rae?” Tally asked a little bit worried.  
“Yeah, what was that? I have never seen you this deep in your thoughts, Shitbird…” Abigail said.   
“Everything is fine. I was just reading the file. So, what were you saying?” Raelle said, trying to distract her team.   
“Well, we wanted to know what you think would be the best way to start” the redhead answered while Abigail just starred at the blond with a raised eyebrow.   
“Well, we have two informants. I would suggest that you and Abigail contact both. We need to know everything they know and while you both do that I will stay here and start looking through old cases involving the Spree. Maybe I can find something useful in them. Before we can make progress, we need to study them and collect every information we have. It´s really important that we don´t mess this up. I want to bring them down once and for all!” Raelle said with determination in her voice. 

She could see the look that Abigail and Tally gave each other but she decided to ignore it. She had more important things to think about.   
“Questions or can we go to work?” the blond asked her team with cold voice.   
“No, everything is clear. We see you later Collar.” said Abigail before standing up, grabbing her stuff and leaving with Tally by her side. 

As soon as Raelle was alone she made some calls to make sure that somebody brought her every single file involving the Spree.  
After thirty minutes she had about twenty boxes full of old cases involving the Spree brought to her desk. In that moment she was glad that her reputation from training still stuck with her. Having people be afraid of her made a lot of things easier.   
She didn´t wanted to waste any more time and picked one of the boxes up. She started to read through all the reports and wrote down everything she thought could be helpful. 

A few hours and seven boxes later she got interrupted by her vibrating phone. She pulled it out of her bag and looked at the display seeing that she got a message from Scylla.  
A small smile appeared on her face while she opened the message to read it. 

*Hey babe, just wanted to check real quick if you know when you will finish work today so I know when to start cooking dinner.   
I miss you and stay safe.

Xo S*

Raelle wrote her back immediately. 

*Hey Beautiful, I don´t know for sure when I can call it a day, but I will try that it won´t be too late. Don´t wait for me with dinner just cook whatever you want, and I will warm it up when I come home. Don´t worry about it!

I miss you too…

Xo R*

She hit sent and put her phone away again. She took her eighth box and opened it, getting the files out of it. She started to read and take her notes, like she did with the others, but she soon realized that the case she currently was reading was way too familiar to her. The reports she was reading, the situation described in it…   
She looked at the box, reading the inscription only for her heart to drop. This was her Mothers last case. The case that killed her.   
Raelles eyes filled with tears who wanted to fall down her face so bad but she didn´t allowed it. She wouldn´t cry at work. She couldn´t let this get close to her, if she did it would probably destroy her. She needed to gain back the control. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes. When she opened them again, she looked around the room making sure nobody was watching her before she slipped everything important from her Mothers case into her bag. She may not be able to read any more of it at work but that didn´t mean that she wouldn´t read it when she was alone. She finally had the opportunity to get answers, to find out more about the events that lead to her mother´s death. She knew that what she did was illegal, but she couldn’t care less at the moment. 

Luckily for the blond a few minutes later Abigail and Tally entered the office and made their way over to her. They immediately started to fill her in on everything they found out. On the other hand, Raelle told them everything she knew so far. It wasn´t much what they got but at least it was a start. 

After talking a little bit more they got back to work. Each of them took a box and started to work through them. They worked for a few more hours before her friends decided that it was time to call it a day. Raelle wanted to finish the box she currently had and stayed behind, watching her friends leave. She didn´t wasted time and got back to work. Raelle wanted to get this done so she could go home where her Soulmate was waiting for her. 

The next time she looked at the clock, she was shocked to discover that it was almost nine pm. She collected all her stuff in a hurry, shut off her light and left. She checked her phone on the way down and saw that she had received a few more messages from Scylla. The last one about an hour ago. She immediately got a guilty conscience. Raelle knew how worried Scylla could get, especially after recent events. She hurriedly made her way over to her car and got in. She sent Scylla a short message to let her know that she was okay and that she was on her way home before she started the car and drove off. 

Traffic was not on Raelle´s side. It took her twenty minutes longer than usual to get home. She wasted no time and got out of her car as soon as she had parked. She made her way over to the house and entered, taking to steps at a time. She opened the door to their apartment and entered. She left her keys and the rest of her stuff at the entrance and walked further into the apartment, calling out for her soulmate. It didn´t took long until Raelle found Scylla sleeping on the couch with a book still in her hands. The blond decided that it was best to let Scylla sleep, so she took the book out of her hands, careful not to wake her up, and grabbed a blanket to cover her. Before leaving the room and heading for the kitchen to warm up dinner she gave Scylla a soft kiss on the forehead. 

About ten minutes later Raelle sat down at the dining table with a plate of food, a bottle of water and the old case from her mother. She didn´t knew why she was about to read that file again considering she already did a few hours ago. She already knew what was written in it. She knew every detail but still she just had to read it again and again and again.  
Soon Raelle forgot about everything except her mother’s last case. She didn´t even noticed that she was up all night until her alarm began to go off on her phone. She was startled about the sudden loud sound but quickly shut it off. She put everything back in her bag and brought her plate to the kitchen before she got ready for work. 

Not even twenty minutes later Raelle left the apartment with a cup full of coffee. The quick shower she took helped her a little bit to wake up, but she hoped that the coffee would do the rest so that she would get through the day without falling asleep at work. The blond knew that Quartermaine was counting on them and she sure as hell didn´t wanted to let her down. 

When the blond arrived at the headquarters her cup of coffee was empty, and she was ready for the next one. She definitely wouldn´t get through the day without a lot of that stuff.   
She was in the elevator, on her way up, when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She quickly took it out and saw that Scylla had left her two messages asking her if everything was alright and why she didn´t woke her up last night. Raelle answered her quickly before putting her phone back in her pocket and exiting the elevator as soon as the doors opened. She made her way over to her desk and left her things there before heading to the kitchen to grab herself another coffee. She got back quickly, sitting down, getting right back to where she stopped yesterday. It didn´t took her long to completely focus on her case and lose track of time. 

The blonde woman only realized that she had zooned out when her two colleagues, and friends, stood in front of her looking at her expectantly.   
“Sorry what did you say?” Raelle asked the both of them. Abigail just shook her head, turned around and went to her desk and sat down, already annoyed with Raelles behavior. Tally on the other hand was now looking some kind of worried but tried not to let it show.   
“I wanted to know since when you were here. You were at home last night, right? You haven´t spent the night in the office? Because you look….” Tally paused thinking about her next words carefully when Abigail finished the sentence for her.   
“You look like shit, Shitbird.” Tally abruptly turned towards Abigail a loud gasp coming out of her mouth.   
“ABIGAIL” the redhead said shocked and a little angry at the same time, but Abigail just looked unfaced by it. She looked her dead in the eye and said  
“What? Why should I sugarcoat the truth, Tal? She looks like shit and that is not my fault.”   
“Could you at least try to be nice for once? Or at least let me do the talking?” Tally said with a frown on her face. 

Raelle watched the both of them discuss for a few minutes until she had enough of it and spoke up.   
“First of all: Screw you, Bellweather. Second, I couldn´t sleep last night and because of that I decided that I would come in earlier than usual. I used the extra time and went to the Gym. I had a long break and I need to get back in shape and after that I just went straight back to work. You know how important that case is Tally.”   
The redheaded woman looked at her for a minute, deep in thoughts, before nodding her head. After that all of them started to get back to work. They had only seven boxes left and Raelle wanted to be done with them by the end of the day. They were working in complete silence most of the time. Each one of them focused on their box. 

When it was time for Lunch Tally and Abigail got up, looking expectantly at Raelle but she just shook her head and told them that she wasn´t hungry and to go without her. Once again, her friends shared a quick look before only nodding and walking away. She waited a few more minutes, making sure that no one was watching her before she grabbed her Mothers last case. She had found a few things she wanted to take a deeper look at, but she only could do it at work. The blond knew that she had to be fast, so she quickly got back to work and researched everything she needed to know. When she was done, she put the file, plus the new information’s, back in her bag.   
She decided that she would leave early today to investigate on something she had found while collecting all this new knowledge. She just had to find a good, believable, excuse.   
The moment she had found one her friends came back from lunch.   
Much to the blonde’s surprise both of them got back to work immediately so she did the same. 

The next time she glanced at the clock, Raelle noticed that it was time to go. She grabbed her stuff, stood up and said   
“I´m calling it a day. I have a Soulmate waiting for me at home. I see you guys tomorrow.”   
She didn´t even gave them a chance to say something she just started to walk away, heading for the elevator. 

She quickly exited the building and got to her car. Throwing her stuff on the back seat, not giving it anymore intention. She was deep in thoughts, preparing herself for the place she was about to see for the first time in years. Her body and mind went into autopilot automatically. She forgot everything and stopped noticing the things around her. That was the reason she didn´t even heard her phone vibrating multiple times. 

After forty-five minutes she stopped her car in front of an old abandoned building. She grabbed her gun and her badge and got out of the vehicle. The blonde headed towards the building, opening the door with determination and entered the building. It was only the second time that she was at that place. She remembered the first time like it was yesterday. She had snuck away because her dad forbid her to go there but she had always been pretty stubborn so she didn´t listened to him. All she knew back then was that she had to go there. It was a few days after losing her mom and one of the worst decisions she had ever made. She remembered how she collapsed almost immediately after getting there and even years later it was still extremely difficult for the young woman but she couldn´t effort to have a breakdown again. She was older now and had much more control over herself plus she had a job to do. She took a deep breath, collected herself and began to search the building. She already knew that it was unlikely that she would find something there, but she wanted to be sure. It took her quiet some time to do so and when she was done, she was exhausted. The blonde woman exited the building and headed towards her car only to find that her tires had been slashed. She pulled out her gun and let her gaze wander around, looking for a suspect but seeing absolutely no one. She put her gun away and opened the backdoor of her car to search for her phone. It was getting dark and Raelle really had absolutely no desire to spend more time there, especially now that someone seemed to try to tell her something through her slashed tires. 

She had to search for a few minutes before she finally found what she was looking for.  
It was the first time in hours that Raelle looked at her phone. Throughout the whole day the young Agent was so caught up with work and her own little research that she completely had forgotten about the woman who owned her heart. Guilt washed over the blonde the longer she looked at all these unread messages and missed calls. She closed her eyes and swallowed every little feeling of guilt down. What was more important right now was that she called a wrecking service to come get her car. 

After she had called one and the woman on the phone had told her that someone was on the way, Raelle decided that she could wait inside of her car. She could feel exhaustion taking over her body slowly, but she had to keep going for a little way. In order to keep her awake she grabbed the file and started to read it again. By now she basically knew every single word in it, but she kept reading it over and over, getting lost in her thoughts once more. Only when she heard a car approach her, she started to pay attention to her surroundings again.

It was completely dark outside when the wrecking service arrived. She quickly put the file away and exited the car to greet the man who was here to help her.   
Raelle could see the curious glance the man head when he saw her tires. She just pulled her shoulders up and said with a little nervous laugh   
“Well, being an FBI Agent isn´t always easy and sometimes comes with a cost.”   
Instead of an answer the man only nodded and got to work. 

It was far after midnight when Raelle opened the door to her apartment quietly, completely exhausted. It had taken almost four hours until everything was sorted out with the wrecking service and the car repair shop.   
Luckily, because of her job and for a little bit extra money, the car repair shop owner was able to change all four tires immediately for Raelle.   
The young woman was just glad to finally be at home. All she wanted now was something to drink, a shower and then going to bed.

Raelle headed straight to the kitchen, getting a bottle of water out of the fridge. She opened it quickly and took a large sip. She leaned against the kitchen counter and closed her eyes, allowing herself to finally relax a little bit. She stayed that way for a while until she heard a soft voice a few feet away from her.  
“Rae?”  
“Hey beautiful.” Raelle said with a loving smile.   
“Did you just come home?” Scylla said while rubbing her sleepy eyes.   
“A few minutes ago, yes. I lost track of time at work and then I had a problem with my car, but I already solved that. That´s why I am so late.” The blond answered, feeling a little guilty for not being completely honest.   
“Oh okay. Why haven´t you answered me? I got worried after not seeing you yesterday and basically not hearing from you the whole day…” the brunette asked.   
“We got a new case and it´s kind of a big deal and if we don’t want to screw this up, we need to do extra hours…” the blonde answered.   
“Okay. Do you want something to eat? I can make you something.” Scylla said.   
“No, thank you. I´m not hungry. I just want to take a shower and go to bed. I´m pretty exhausted to be honest. How about you get back to bed already and I will keep you company as soon as I´m done with my shower? I can see how desperately you want to go back to bed beautiful.” The blond said with a little laugh.   
Just in this moment Scylla started to yawn.   
“Yeah, I think that is a good idea” the brunette said laughing. 

Both women left the kitchen and went to the bedroom where Scylla immediately got in the bed and Raelle into the bathroom. The blonde took a quick shower, put on a t-shirt and got back to the bedroom where Scylla was trying desperately to stay awake. Raelle could only smile lovingly at her soulmate while she made her way over to the bed and got under the covers herself. As soon as she was comfortable, Scylla cuddled into her letting out a satisfied sigh, falling asleep immediately.   
Raelle gave the brunette a soft kiss on her forehead before she allowed herself to finally fall asleep. Not knowing what the night would bring for her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely people :)
> 
> I´m back with a new chapter.   
> Unfortunately I don't have that much time to write with work and school but I'm trying. I haven't giving up on this story and I never will! I apologise for the long waits between the chapters but I can assure you that I'm doing my best to get a new one out as soon as possible!! 
> 
> P.S: Please forgive me for any mistakes you will find. English is not my native language but I'm trying to not suck completely :D 
> 
> Also a huge THANK YOU to everyone who is reading this story and is on this beautiful ride with me. It means truly a lot to me. 
> 
> As always let me know what you think :) 
> 
> Have fun with the new Chapter!
> 
> Stay safe & healthy 
> 
> Love, Ashisa :)

Chapter 11

Raelle found herself back at the cinema. She had absolutely no idea how she got back there but deep inside of her she could feel that she was there for a reason.   
She was walking through the dark hallways until she heard a noise coming from one of the rooms. She slowed down and approached the door quietly. When she was about to open it, it busted open and a woman tackled her down. From there on time seemed to slow down. She, once again, fought for her life. After getting hit a few times and then successfully hitting her attacker as well Raelle noticed that she knew the woman she was fighting. It was the woman who had almost killed her but how was this possible? 

Raelle knew what would happen next, she would hear footsteps approach which would take her attention away from the woman she had pinned to the floor just long enough for the spree member to ram a knife into her stomach a few times.   
The blond couldn´t understand why she had to relive this moment until something caught her attention. For the first time her head seemed to truly register that the other woman had said something to her that day and for the first time Raelle was able to really process what was being said. Her attacker knew her name but not just that, she brought Raelle´s mother also into this. 

The young Agent was as confused as ever when suddenly an awful pain exploded in her stomach. A few seconds later she shot up in her bed, looking in blue worried eyes, gasping for air. She was looking around frantically before touching her stomach where she could feel the scars under her shirt. 

“Rae, it´s okay. Your okay. It was just a dream. Your safe baby, just breath. Breath…” Scylla said with a calm voice, carefully placing a hand on Raelles back. 

It took the blonde a while until she managed to calm herself down and get her breathing back to normal but having Scylla by her side accelerated it.   
They kept quiet for a while, neither one of them dared to say something, but at one point Raelle couldn´t take the silence anymore so she spoke up  
“I´m sorry for waking you, Scyl.”  
The brunette takes one of Raelle´s hands and places a soft kiss on it before intertwining their fingers, smiling softly at her, and asking carefully  
“Do you want to talk about your dream? Maybe tell me what it was about?” 

As soon as Scylla said those words, Raelle immediately tensed up building a wall inside of her. Before she knew what she was doing, she heard herself say  
“No, I can´t remember what it was about anyway.” She quickly stood up and brought distance between them continuing to talk  
“You should go back to sleep. I will take another shower because I´m feeling gross so yeah. Just try to sleep for a little bit longer.”   
With that being said Raelle disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind her, leaving a confused Scylla behind. 

The young woman walked in front of the mirror and took her shirt off, looking at the scars on her stomach, touching them lightly. When she looked up all she could see was a pale woman who had fear written all over her eyes. That nightmare took a huge tool on her and for some strange reason Raelle had the feeling that it wouldn´t be the only nightmare she would have. The blond starred at herself for a few more minutes before she took the rest of her clothes off and got under the shower.   
She really wasn´t planning on sleeping again so she changed the temperature to ice cold and let it wash over her for quite some time. 

As soon as she started trembling, she turned the water off and got out of the shower. Her skin was ice cold but at least she was able to think straight again. Plus, she was wide awake now. She quickly threw on some clothes and exited the bathroom silently. She really was hoping that Scylla would be asleep because she had no idea what she should tell her. She knew that Scylla would be worried sick if she told her what her nightmare was about. Even more when Scylla knew about her private little investigation. She had to keep this a secret for as long as she possibly could, to protect the woman that she loved. 

Luck was on Raelle´s side because when she glanced at the bed, she saw Scylla was sleeping peacefully. With one last look towards the bed, Raelle grabbed everything she needed and left the room. She headed towards the kitchen. The shower might have helped her wake up, but she still needed her morning coffee. 

Her body automatically shifted to autopilot while she got lost in her thoughts again. She just couldn´t stop thinking about her nightmare. Was there a possibility that, what the woman in her dream said was true or was her subconscious trying to drive her insane? The blonde woman really didn´t know, but what she knew was that she had to find it out.   
Within a second the young Agent had decided what her next step would be. She had to find out more about the woman who attacked her and that she needed to find a way to talk to her without someone noticing. Raelle drunk her morning coffee hastily. Once she was done, she put her mug into the dishwasher before heading out of the kitchen. She collected her stuff and threw on some shoes and a jacket. She grabbed her keys and left the apartment without noticing that it was only six in the morning. Now that she had a plan, a new hint, she couldn´t wait any longer. She had to investigate immediately. She knew that if she wouldn´t do it she would drive herself crazy because of all those questions swirling around in her head. 

She exited the building and made her way over to her car, getting in, starting the engine and driving of towards the headquarter. The streets were far to empty. She wasn´t stuck in traffic what caused Raelle to look at her phone and notice what time it was. The young woman was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn´t realized that it was only 6:20 AM when she left at home.  
Raelle knew that Scylla wouldn´t like it to find an empty apartment when she woke up but for the blonde woman it only meant more time alone in the office where she could get new information about her attacker. Maybe she could even find an excuse for her friends to go early again so she could go to the cinema. A part of her was begging her to just stop but the other part wanted to get answers, no matter what price she had to pay for it. After years she had the chance to find out what happened to her mother. She couldn’t just let it go. She had to do it. 

The next thing Raelle noticed were the elevator doors opening and her walking out of it and making her way over to her desk. She sat down and started collecting every information they had about the woman who attacked her in the cinema. The blonde didn’t even got her second coffee of the morning, which never happened before.   
She was so caught up in her task that she hadn´t realized that two hours had gone by. The first time she looked up from her screen was when Tally greeted her happily and full of energy. Abigail on the other hand just sat down and looked at Raelle, studying her.   
After about three minutes Raelle couldn´t take it any longer, so she turned around to Abigail and said   
“What is it, Bellweather?”   
“Nothing. You just look like a piece of shit. Again.” Abigail answered, a strange look on her face which Raelle couldn´t interpret.  
“Once again, thank you Abigail for being an asshole” answered Raelle and turned away from her friend. She quickly closed every window on her computer, hiding her research from her friends. 

When Raelle looked up from her screen she could see Abigail and Tally looking at each other. Usually Raelle wouldn´t mind because her colleagues did that on a regular basis, but this time was different. The blonde couldn´t quiet put her finger on it but what she knew was that she needed to get out of this moment, so she stood up and walked away. Her body was now fully aware that Raelle had skipped her second dose of caffeine and that was something that would never be accepted. She headed to the kitchen to get what her body desired the most at the moment. Once she got herself a cup full of her life elixir, she made her way back to her desk, ignoring Tally and Abigail completely while starting to work on the case Quartermaine gave them. Up until now there was no huge progress on it. It was expected but it still annoyed Raelle to the bone. She hated it when she got stuck and nothing was moving forward. It made her feel useless and she couldn´t stand feeling this way.   
She took a sip from her coffee and stared at her screen, reading everything they got so far. 

“What are you thinking about, Rae?” Tally asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.  
“The case. Something is just not right. There is something we´re missing. I can feel it…” Raelle answered.   
“Yeah, I agree with Collar. We are way too good to be stuck for so long.” Abigail said.   
They stayed silent for a while after that. Every one of them stuck in their own heads thinking about what they were missing until Raelle suddenly sat up straight.   
“Abigail, when you told me about the two informants you said that one of them seemed strange to you, right?” Raelle asked.   
“Yeah, why? What is going on in your head?” Abigail asked curious.   
“I think that he is the missing piece. Your instinct is one of the best things about you. We both know that you always can count on it, but we never did in this case. Why? We just let it slip. I say that we take another look at this dude and check him. He won´t talk, we already know that, so I say we get the okay to tail him. I trust you and I trust your instinct Abigail. I think we should give it a shot. If I´m wrong, then at least we know.” Raelle said looking back and forth at Abigail and Tally, waiting for them to speak.   
“I think we should do it. It´s worth a shot plus it´s true that you have the best instinct, Abs” Tally said looking at the brunette.   
“As I see it, it´s our only lead right now so why not? I will go to Quartermaine and get us the okay” Bellweather said before standing up and walking away.   
Raelle nodded her head, already on her way of getting lost in her thoughts again but a soft voice brought her back to the now.   
“Hey Rae? You know you can talk to me about anything right?” Tally asked carefully.   
With confusion written all over her face Raelle answered  
“Of course I know that Tal, why are you asking me that?”   
“I just wanted to make sure…” the redhead said while looking at the ground, clearly avoiding looking at the blonde.   
Tally´s behavior confused Raelle completely but before she could say another thing Abigail came back, interrupting them. The young agent could feel anger boil up inside of her but swallowed it down. It irritated her that she was getting angry so fast, but she blamed her lack of sleep and just pushed it in the back of her head.   
Abigail sat down and said   
“After explaining our plan, Quartermaine gave us green light.”   
“Perfect. Tal, I want you to make us a file with everything we know about this guy. Abigail, I want you to get the equipment we will need. I want everything ready by four in the afternoon. I will be back until then and get everything. I will do the first shift. I don´t care who will take the first shift tomorrow morning. You can discuss this with each other. Everything clear so far?” Raelle said, looking at both of them with a raised eyebrow.   
“I will be done until four.” Tally said nodding, already turning around and starting to create a file. The blonde only nodded and let her gaze wander to Abigail, waiting for her answer.   
“All clear, Collar but I do have a question” The brunette said. Raelle looked at her, waiting for Abigail to ask her question.   
“Where are you going? You said you will be back until four so where are you going?” the brunette asked, voice laced with curiosity. Once again Raelle could feel her anger slowly creeping up her body. She clenched her jaw, trying to fight that feeling inside of her but failing miserably. So collected her stuff and stood up. She looked coldly at her colleague and said ice cold   
“It´s not your fucking business, so keep your nose out of it, Bellweather!”   
Raelle didn´t even wait for an answer, she stormed off leaving a worried Tally and Abigail behind. 

The blonde quickly drove off, leaving the office behind her. She could still feel the anger boil inside of her, but she had more important things to do. She needed to focus and prepare herself. After all she was on her way to talk to the woman who almost killed her and now there was even a chance that she knew something about her mother´s death. She just had to find out the truth. 

Raelle had to drive forty-five minutes to the prison where the woman was kept. When she arrived, she sat another five minutes in the car, collecting herself and shoving every bit of emotion away from her. She couldn´t allow herself to feel when she was in there. With one last deep breath she got out of the care and made her way over to the building. 

After another ten minutes, Raelle was led into a room with only one table and two chairs on each side. She was told to sit on the right sit, so she did. She watched the woman leave only for her to come back a few minutes later with the person she was here for.   
Raelle automatically straightened her back a little bit more, she starred at her attacker with cold eyes. The rest of her emotions gone. The blonde observed the Spree Member while she was led to her place and got chained to the table.   
Raelle only looked away from the person in front of her, to nod to the woman and thank her. Signaling her to leave them alone. Luckily the woman understood and quickly left the room, leaving Raelle and her attacker alone. The young agent, once again, laid her eyes on the woman on the other side of the table only to find her smiling sweetly at her.   
“Hello Raelle. It´s so good to see you again” she said with that same smile on her face.   
All Raelle could do was return her smile and say   
“Yeah, well I thought it was time to let you know that you failed miserably because I´m still breathing. I guess your little psycho group leader is not so happy about your failure…”   
“Don´t worry the Spree was more than satisfied with my actions.” The woman said with a little laugh.   
Raelle leaned forward, arms on the table, her fake smile no longer there.   
“How about we get straight to the point? We both know I´m not here for a little friendly chat.” The young woman said.   
“So this is the talented, ice cold, FBI agent everyone fears so much? I mean I have to say in some way you are intimidating. I even understand why some people fear this side of you, but I know that this is just an act, but you can´t fool me. Oh no, I see right through you.” The woman said challenging.   
“You don´t know anything about me but how about we talk about you, Ava?” Raelle said. 

As soon as Raelle said her name she could see that Ava´s expression and body language changed. The amusement that was in her eyes moments before was gone, replaced by a mix of anger and fear. That only made Raelle smile satisfied.   
“Did I say the wrong thing, Ava? Your awfully quiet all of a sudden…” the blond said sweetly, waiting for an answer. Soon, Raelle understood that she wouldn´t get an answer so she began to speak again.   
“So, I guess you don´t want to talk about yourself. That´s absolutely fine, Ava. How about we talk about your parents then? Or do you prefer that we talk about your husband?” Raelle watched Ava carefully, noticing every movement of her finger, every breath that she took, every time she blinked with her eyes. She also noticed that Ava got angrier with every second that passed but that still wasn´t enough for Raelle.   
No, Raelle wanted to break the woman in front of her. She wanted to make her suffer. That was the reason why she began talking again.   
“You have to know that I made my researches before I came her. So, I basically know every little detail of your life. I know where you grew up, which school you attended. I know that your father died because of a heart attack. I know where your mother lives and I also know when you got married. I can only imagen how happy you must have been that day. Marrying the love of your life, having all those plans with him only to find out that he has cancer. I bet that really sucked. Finding out that your husband has cancer after one year of marriage and then watching him fight against that illness for another year only to get told that the cancer inside of him was stronger and that he had lost the battle…” Raelle waited a few seconds before she finished her monologue.   
“I´m sorry about your loss. I truly am but I guess that way he didn´t had to find out his wife is a terrorist.”   
When the young Agent looked in Ava´s eyes all she could see was pain and unshed tears and, in that moment, Raelle knew that her plan had worked and that the woman in front of her was about to break and lose her self-control. The blond just had to wait a little bit longer. 

“When I come out of here, and I will come out, you will suffer. I´m going to make sure that my face will be the last thing you will ever see. Just like your precious little mommy did. You will die just like she did. Slow, painful and alone. I promise you that Raelle!” Ava said full of rage.   
After hearing that, Raelle herself had problems containing her boiling anger but she wouldn´t let Ava win that easily so instead of all the things she wanted to say she decided to just smile challenging at Ava and say with monotone voice  
“Good luck with that Ava but I will destroy you and your little Group. I will get every single one of you and I promise you that I will make sure that you pay for what you did to me and my family.”   
“You can´t destroy us. We are everywhere, Raelle. You just make the same mistake as your mother did and you will pay the exact same way. It already started to be honest. The Spree has an eye on you.” Ava answered with a little sadistic smile. 

That caught Raelle by surprise. For a moment she didn´t understood what Ava meant but then realization hit her. All the color disappeared from her face but Raelle quickly processed that new information and build her walls back up. Once again looking cold at the woman in front of her.   
“I don´t care. I´m right here, waiting for them. Let them come, I´m more than ready to take them down.” Raelle said before standing up and walking away, leaving Ava behind, without looking back. 

With every step she took a cold feeling spread and took over her body. Raelle knew that feeling, even when it was a while since she last felt that way. She also knew that it was dangerous for her to feel like that again but she couldn´t get through this when she allowed herself to feel too much. She had to go back to the Raelle she was before Scylla came into her life. She had to be the cold, fearless and merciless young Agent again. If she wanted to pull this of and take down the Spree, she needed to be willing to do everything it took, no matter what the consequences would be. 

When Raelle drove away, that coldness had taken over her entire body. Only one aim on her mind. Destroying the Spree. 

With that thought she made her way back to the headquarters to get everything she needed for her investigation. Determination running through her veins.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, 
> 
> I´m back with a new chapter! It's a little bit shorter and a little bit different then my usual Chapters but I hope that is okay and you guys are still going to like it!! 
> 
> This Chapter took a turn even I didn't see coming. This idea popped in my head while I was writing this Chapter. I just love some good drama so I hope you guys don't mind. 
> 
> As always, let me know what you think! :) 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy 
> 
> Love Ashisa :) 
> 
> P.s: For those of you who are missing a certain someone in the last few chapters, I can promise you that she will be back soon!!

Chapter 12

Raelle stepped out of the elevator, making her way over to Tally and Abigail. She didn´t wanted to waste any more time so she got straight to the point once she reached them.   
“Are you done with the file, Tally?” the blonde asked.   
“Yeah, just like you wanted it” the redhead said, handing the file over to Raelle.   
“Thanks” she said turning around to Abigail.   
“You got everything, Bellweather?”   
The brunette handed Raelle a bag and said   
“Everything we need is in there.”   
The blond nodded and said   
“I see one of you tomorrow then.” She turned around and left the both of them alone. Missing the looks she received but she honestly didn´t even care.   
Raelle stepped into the elevator and watched as the doors closed. When her phone began vibrating, she didn´t even look who was calling her. She just declined the call and put her phone back in her pocket. For a few seconds a voice inside of Raelles head screamed Scylla´s name and managed to let her feel guilty but Raelle quickly swallowed that down and silenced the voice. She would think about the woman she loved and what she did when she had succeeded. Once she reached her car, she pulled out her phone and wrote a short message to Scylla, letting her know that she wouldn´t come home tonight and that she didn´t have to worry. She hit sent, opened her door and threw her phone plus her other stuff she wouldn´t need any more tonight on the backseat. Once she got into the driver’s seat, she started the car and drove away quickly. 

\------------- The same time -----------

Tally and Abigail watched as Raelle made her exit, waiting for the doors of the elevator to close so they could dare to look at each other.   
While Abigail had mixed feelings about the Raelle situation, Tally was full on concerned about her friend. She just couldn´t explain to herself why Raelle was acting like this. It felt like the old Raelle was back, the one they met on their first day here at the FBI but that didn´t made sense to the redhead. The moment Scylla came into Raelles life, the blond had changed. She had started to open up a little bit more and she had stopped being so extremely reckless on missions. It made absolutely no sense.   
“What are you thinking about Tal?” Abigail asked, even when she knew the answer already.   
“About Raelle. It just makes absolutely no sense, Abs.” the redhead answered.   
“Maybe things aren´t going so well with Scylla, I don´t know. The only thing I know for sure is that she pisses me off. Just like she did when we first met her.” The brunette said trying to sound monotone.   
“Quit the act, Abigail. I know you worry about her too. Something is seriously wrong with her and we need to find out what it is and we need to do it fast. I have a really really bad feeling about this…” Tally said.  
“And what should we do? We basically know nothing, Tal…” Abigail said seriously.   
“Then we have to treat it like one of our cases. We can do it, Abs. Besides we´re not starting from zero. I can call Scylla and tell her to meet up with us. I´m sure she also noticed that something was wrong with Raelle by now. Maybe she can give us some hints where to start.”   
“What if Raelle is normal at home and just so strange at work? Should we really pull Scylla into this?” the brunette asked.  
“Scylla is our only option and you know that. I don´t think she just behaves like this at work, I mean have you seen her and her circles under her eyes? There is no way, Scylla hasn´t noticed something. We have to give it a shot.” The redhead said with determination in her voice.   
“Alright. I trust you Tally and when you think we should talk with Scylla then we will do that, but I think we should wait a few days.” The brunette said with pleading eyes.   
“Why do you want to wait a few days?” Tally asked confused.   
“I just… I also don´t have a good feeling about this but if were right then things could get pretty ugly and I don´t want to be the one who explains to Raelle that Scylla is in danger or got hurt. Just give me two days. If I can´t find anything out, you can call her. Please Tal, just two days…” Abigail said almost beggingly.   
“Okay, two days but that is all I´m going to give you. Don´t ask me for more.” Tally said hesitating.  
“I won´t. Thank you Tal.” was all that Abigail said with a smile on her face. 

\-------------------------------------------------------

Raelle pulled up in front of the house the informant lived in, making herself comfortable. After all she would be spending a few hours in her car, watching that guy until Tally or Abigail would take over. She set everything up and started reading the file Tally has made.   
The blond had to say that there was nothing suspicious about this guy. At least not for normal eyes but as an Agent Raelle knew that something was not right. It was like that guy lived a picture perfect life. There was not one bad thing about him in this file and if Raelle knew one thing for sure then it was that no one was perfect. Everyone made mistakes and she would find out what he was hiding.   
After reading it for the second time, she put it away. She had memorized every important aspect she needed to know so now all she could do was wait and hope that this guy would do something suspicious. 

Unfortunately for the blonde the only interesting thing that happened that night was when her suspect got out to get something to eat. She was glad that she was able to get out of her car and stretch her legs but that didn´t last long.   
At one point, in the middle of the night, Raelle got bored so she got her phone, looking at it for the first time in hours. She allowed herself to finally recognize all the missed calls and messages from Scylla. While she read through them, she could feel guilt build up inside of her. A huge amount of it. Maybe she chose the wrong way for this. Maybe she should have told Tally and Abigail about what she had found out. That way she would at least have back up but deep down the blonde knew why she hasn´t chosen that way. It was the same reason why she hasn´t told Scylla. She couldn´t risk putting people she loved in danger. She would never forgive herself if one of them happened something because of her, so she would pull this off without them. After her little talk with Ava, Raelle knew for sure that what she was doing was dangerous and that the Spree was watching her. 

The blonde put her phone away, looking at the now dark window from her suspect. She had no idea how she will manage to stay awake. She started to feel the lack of sleep from the past days. Maybe taking the first shift wasn´t her best idea either but it clearly was too late to change it. All she could do now was wait until one of her friends would take over and stay awake. 

At one point Raelle couldn´t sit anymore, so she decided to talk a short walk and get herself some coffee. It was now around four in the morning and it was cold outside but Raelle was glad about it. The coffee she had gotten gave her a little rush of energy, but the cold had woken her up fully. She was only a few feet away from her car when she noticed that something wasn´t quite right. She took another step towards her car, trying to see what was wrong through the darkness of the night and when she finally did, all color vanished from her face. 

Both of her windows on the back were shattered, completely ruined but that wasn´t even the worse part. Someone had left her a message. A very clear message. On her backseat were a dozen photos. Photos from her dad, from Tally and Abigail, from herself. There even were pictures from Scylla but also from her mother. More specifically, pictures from her mother the day she got killed. Before the blonde could stop herself, she took one of the pictures from her mother and looked at it closely. She immediately recognized the surroundings in the picture. It was the old abandoned building her mother was found.   
After starring at the picture a few more minutes, Raelle managed to finally break free and look around. Of course, there was no one who looked suspicious, but the young woman still had the feeling that she was being watched, so she kept looking around.  
The moment she was about to call herself paranoid she noticed a movement in the corner of her eye. She quickly turned around in the direction, just in time to see someone disappear in a dark alley across the street. Without thinking Raelle started running after the person who was watching her. It may only have been a few seconds but when the blonde arrived at the alley, she found it empty. No sign of anyone. It was like the person disappeared into the air. Shaking her head, she turned around again heading back to her car, deep in thoughts. 

Once she got back to her car, she quickly collected all the pictures from her backseat to put them in her back but unfortunately, she was too careless.   
She overlooked a large splinter of the broken window which caused her to make a long cut on her forearm. Immediately she pulled away, cursing. She looked at her arm but all she could see at first was blood pouring out of her wound.   
After a few more minutes of cursing and watching her blood run down her arm, Raelle managed to make her brain work again. She quickly made her way to the back of the car, opening her trunk, where she kept her first aid kid. Luckily, she knew how to take care of such a wound so she quickly got everything she would need for a pressure bandage.   
She needed to stop the bleeding and the best way for that was putting pressure on the wound. It took her a little bit, because doing a pressure bandage alone is quite difficult as it turned out, but she still managed to do it. Much to Raelles dislike her clothes were pretty much ruined. She couldn´t go home looking like that if she wanted to avoid giving Scylla a heart attack.   
She was trying to figure out what she could do when an idea popped up in her head. She walked back to the driver site and got in, searching for her phone. When she found it she wrote a short message to Tally, asking her to take the second shift and that she should bring a fresh set of clothes for Raelle with her. She hit sent and let herself fall back into her seat. She felt terribly cold, thanks to the busted windows behind her, and the cut on her arm began to hurt as well, now that the adrenalin was wearing off. The blonde just couldn´t wait for the hours to go by. 

For Raelle, the last hour felt like infinity, but as soon as she saw Tally park her car on the other side of the road, a few feet away, Raelle was wide awake and out of her car in seconds, already crossing the road and making her way over to her red headed friend.   
Unfortunately, she totally had forgotten the state of her clothes and how she must look. 

The moment Tally laid eyes on the blonde, her smile disappeared from her face. Raelle wanted to punch herself for being so stupid. As soon as she was near her friend, she wanted to say something but she didn´t get the chance to. 

“What happened?” Tally asked worried.   
“It´s nothing, Tal. Do you have the clothes I asked you to bring?” said Raelle in an attempt to distract the woman in front of her without success.   
“That is not nothing, Raelle! Why are you hurt and what happened to your car? What are you not telling me?!” the red head said getting impatient.   
“Just let it go, Tally. It´s nothing. I have everything under control. The clothes, please?” the blonde said, also getting impatient. 

Tally silently handed Raelle a bag, getting a quiet thank you, but when Raelle wanted to turn around and walk away the red head stopped her and said with pleading eyes  
“Please, tell me what is going on with you, Rae…”   
Raelle contemplated what she should do, what she should say when Tally started talking again.   
“Let me help you with whatever it is your dealing with, please….?”   
Maybe it was the lack of sleep but, as much as she wanted to keep calm, she couldn´t after hearing that. So, she snapped. 

That all too familiar coldness filled every Ince of her body within seconds, taking over control completely.   
“What is going on is that you have to stay out of my god damn business and I certainly don´t need your help, Craven. So how about you just do your job now and leave me the fuck alone!” the blonde said angrily, turning around and leaving a shocked Tally behind. 

She quickly made her way over to her car, got in, and drove away. Her plan of going straight home to get some sleep was completely forgotten. She was way too angry to go home so she decided to drive around for a little while. Maybe that would help her to calm down again. The blonde switched to autopilot after a few minutes just getting lost in her thoughts while driving. 

After a while she decided that it was probably the best to bring her car to a car repair shop, again, to get her windows fixed. She automatically began to drive towards the shop she was the last time but after a few minutes she noticed something. At first she thought she just imagined it but after taking a few turns here and there she was sure she was being followed. A few cars behind her was a black SUV with black windows, protecting the driver from being seen from the outside.   
For a short moment Raelle glanced at her phone, considering if she should call someone to get back up but as quickly as that thought came it was away again. Instead, she just whispered to herself come and get me before she sped up. 

Thirty minutes later, Raelle thought she had managed to lose them, a victorious smile on her face. That little car chase may had led her out of the city but as long as it worked, and she got rid of the one following her, it was totally worth it. Just when she was about to drive in the direction of the city again, more specifically the car repair shop, she suddenly was thrown forward and the sound of metal crashing on metal filled the air.  
The next minutes went by in slow motion for the young woman. She desperately tried to gain control over her car again and get away from the SUV, who just hit her in an attempt to get her off the road, before something worse could happen but unfortunately it was already too late. 

The driver from the SUV hit her again, harder this time. Raelle had no chance of keeping control over her car and so it came that she left the road and drove directly towards a tree.   
She could feel the impact of the crash and within the next second she could feel blood running down on the side of her face. Her vision was blurry but out of pure instinct she tried to get out of the car. For her it felt like hours, but in reality, it was only a few minutes, until she managed to get out of the car and walk a few feet away from it. Everything around her began to spin, her blurry vision got even worse. Raelle knew that it was only a matter of time until she would lose consciousness, she tried to fight it but when she heard something behind her she turned around way to fast. 

The last thing the blond saw before passing out was a woman standing in front of her with an evil smirk on her face. A woman Raelle knew and never thought she would see again so soon.   
Collecting her last bit of energy Raelle managed to say,   
“Ava”.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely people! 
> 
> I´m back with a new Chapter. I actually don't want to say much instead of let me know what you guys thing & I hope you enjoy reading it. 
> 
> I hope your all doing okay and are healthy in this still crazy time!! 
> 
> Love, Ashisa :)

Chapter 13

The first thing Scylla did as soon as she opened her eyes that morning, was check her phone for any messages or missed calls. Much to her disappointment there weren’t any from a certain blonde.  
With a frustrated sign, the brunette threw her phone away, laying on her back again, starring at the ceiling. No matter how many times she thought it threw, she just couldn´t understand what happened and why Raelle had changed so extremely, so fast. It just didn´t make sense. The other day she couldn´t get enough of Scylla and seemed so happy and the next day she came home late, barley slept or ate and ignored Scylla almost the whole day and didn´t write her back. On the rare occasions the blonde answered it was always pretty short. Usually, Raelle always called her beautiful or told her that she missed her and couldn´t wait to come home to her but she hadn´t done that the last few days.  
At first Scylla thought she had made something wrong, that maybe Raelle regretted living together but as soon as these thoughts had come the young woman had thrown them away.  
Raelle was not that kind of person. No way. Raelle was brave and kind and she was gentle and romantic and so much more. Whatever it was that Raelle was dealing with, it had to be huge. Scylla was sure of that and all she had to do now, was figure out what it was. 

Luckily, the brunette had a day off from work, which she was really thankful for. She had barley slept without Raelle by her side so she wasn´t feeling very great today. At least the only things on her to do list today were grocery shopping and cleaning the apartment. 

Deciding that it was best to not waste any more time in bed, Scylla stood up. Ready to face the day. 

As soon as she had showered and put on some fresh clothes, she started to clean the apartment. After around one and a half hours she was finally done, so she decided that she would go grocery shopping. She wanted to be done with everything, so she had time for Raelle when she came home. Putting on her shoes and a Jacket, Scylla grabbed her keys and her bag and was out the door, a smile on her face. 

Two hours later, Scylla unlocked the door, entering her home. Carrying a few bags on both sides. She closed the door with her foot and walked further inside.  
“Babe? Are you there?” She called out, hopefully. She waited a few seconds but much to her dislike she got no response. She threw her keys on the table in the living room, making her way over to the kitchen where she could finally put the bags down.  
As soon as her hands were free, she got her phone out, checking for any messages or calls but there still weren´t any. Scylla really tried to stay calm and not worry too much but the last time she had heard from the blonde was when she told her that she had to work all night. Now it was almost 12 o´clock in the morning. This was not typical at all for the blonde. 

The brunette couldn´t stop herself, she just had to try and call her Soulmate. Of course, it went straight to voicemail. Scylla was about to throw her phone on the table when she got a message from Tally. It would have been an understatement to say that she was surprised but she quickly opened the message and started reading. The red head asked her if they could meet up and talk. She didn´t say about what exactly just that she needed to talk to her and that it was important. Scylla immediately replied that she was free today and that she could meet up as soon as Tally was free as well.  
After writing a little back and forth they decided to meet up at the bar near the FBI at around seven pm. 

The rest of the day went by painfully slow. Scylla still hadn´t heard a word from Raelle which worried her but after Tally´s message she was even more worried. The only thing the red head could possibly want to talk about was Raelle. The brunette was sure of that but no matter how hard she had tried to prepare herself for that talk nothing could prepare her for the feeling she immediately got when she walked inside that bar and saw Tally already sitting there. Reluctantly she made her way over to the waiting woman, getting nervous with every step she took towards her. When Tally saw her, she quickly smiled and stood up. 

“Hello Scylla. Thank you for meeting me! Have a seat” the red head said making a little break while waiting for Scylla to sit down. When she did, she continued to talk.  
“What can I get you to drink?” she asked nicely.  
“Not to seem mean or anything but can we skip this part and come right to the point, please? I don´t know how much longer I can do this. Its obvious that Raelle is the reason why you wanted to talk to me or am I wrong…?” Scylla asked.  
Tally´s smile fell from her face and made place for a serious look.  
“You´re right. Raelle is the reason why I wanted to talk to you…” the red head said with a sigh.  
“Is she in some kind of trouble or anything?” the brunette asked.  
“I actually don´t know. I had hoped that you could tell me that…” Tally said slightly confused.  
“I´m afraid that I can´t really help you. Basically, all I can tell you is that Raelle acted strange all of a sudden. She barley slept and hasn´t eaten much. She hasn´t been much at home actually. I haven´t seen her a lot in a few days. Honestly I haven´t even heard from her since yesterday when she told me she had to work all night…” the brunette said a little upset.  
“Wait what? What do you mean you haven´t heard from her all day?” Tally asked concerned.  
“She hasn´t answered any of my texts or calls. I thought something came up at work that kept her busy and that was the reason why she wasn´t at home today but now I get the feeling that I am wrong with that… am I?” Scylla answered, voice full of concern.  
“I… ehm…” was all Tally was able to get out.  
“Just tell me Tally!” Scylla demanded, now full on worried.  
“Abigail and I, we noticed some changes about Raelle a few days ago.” The red head said reluctantly.  
“What do you mean?” the brunette asked, now curious.  
“She started to get distracted and she had those mood swings all of a sudden. Not to mention that she looked terrible, the bags under her eyes were getting bigger. She literally lashed out at Abigail for nothing…“ Tally said, stopping mid-sentence.  
“There is something you’re not telling me. You left something out. I need to know everything Tally, please…” Scylla said begging.  
“When I saw her this morning, I tried to get her to talk to me, to find out what is going on, especially after seeing her but she got really angry. She lashed out on me and then just drove away. I haven´t heard or seen her since then. I thought she went home to you but I considering what you told me she hasn´t done that.” The FBI Agent finished.  
“What do you mean with ´especially after seeing her´? The brunette was even more confused now.  
“She asked me to bring her a set of new clothes because hers were covered in blood. I don´t know what exactly has happened, all I can tell you is that her back windows were busted, and she had a bandage around her arm. Seemed like she had cut herself on one of the broken windows or something, but she was okay. I think she wanted the fresh clothes so she could change before going home so she wouldn´t worry you.”  
“Then why wasn´t she at home?”  
“I honestly don’t know, but I promise you that Abigail and I are going to find out what is going on with her. If you should find anything out or remember anything else that could help us, then please don´t hesitate to text or call me okay?” Tally asked.  
“Yeah of course” Scylla said immediately. 

The red head was about to say something when her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She locked at Scylla and excused herself for a minute, telling her she had to take this call.  
She walked away from the table until she was sure Scylla couldn´t hear her before she picked up.  
“Hey Abs” she said.  
“Where are you?” Abigail asked, not even bothering to greet her friend.  
“Ehm, I´m at the bar… why are you asking?” the red head asked curious.  
“Scylla is with you am I right?” Abigail asked over the phone.  
“How…?” was all that Tally could say before Abigail interrupted her.  
“You’re not good at hiding things Tal, no offence. Plus, you acted a little suspicious when we saw each other earlier. So are you going to tell me why you decided to not give me the two days I asked you for?”  
“Raelle lashed out on me this morning and just drove off. She also was hurt and two of her car windows were busted. Listen, I´m sorry Abs for not giving you the time you asked me for but the Raelle I saw this morning… I barley recognized her. I had to find out if Scylla knew something. I´m really sorry” Tally said.  
“It´s okay, Tal but would you care to explain the part with the broken windows and the part where she lashed out on you?” Abigail asked curious.  
“I will explain everything later when I´m at home but Abigail there is something else that got me a little bit worried…”  
“What is it? Did Scylla say something?” said her friend over the phone, now in full on Agent mode.  
“Scylla told me that she hasn´t heard anything from Raelle since yesterday but what got me worried is the fact that Raelle never went home after she drove away this morning. I have a really bad feeling about this. Have you heard anything from her at all today?” The red head asked.  
“Now that I think about it, I have to say that I haven´t heard from her which is surprising considering that we are in the middle of an investigation. Usually, she is the one who always wants to be up to date.” Answered Abigail.  
“That really is untypical for her and only worries me more.”  
“Hey try to relax. It doesn´t have to mean anything. We don´t know if she is home right now. Maybe she just needed a little time to cool off or something. Try to stay calm, if not for you then for Scylla okay? Just until we know more, Tally.” Her colleague said on the phone.  
“I´ll try it but I have to go now. We are talking for too long already. I will call you later when I get home and tell you everything I know in detail okay?” the young woman asked.  
“Alright, I hear from you later then!” Abigail answered before saying goodbye and hanging up.  
Tally took a deep breath before she returned to her table where Scylla was waiting patiently for her return.  
She sat down and smiled friendly at the brunette.  
“Sorry about that. Abigail just wanted to fill me in on something she found out regarding to our case.” Tally said apologizing.  
“It´s okay. Can I ask you something, Tally?” Scylla asked hesitantly.  
“Yeah, of course!” the red head answered immediately.  
“I know you can´t give me any details, I really don´t want any, but I just wondered if that case you mentioned, is this the super important one? Raelle mentioned a huge important case a few days ago and…” Scylla said but stopped mid–sentence, deep in thoughts all of a sudden.  
“You okay, Scylla?” the FBI agent asked irritated.  
“Yeah, sorry I just realized something. I don´t know if it will help but when I think about it I have to say that Raelle started to change shortly after she told me you guys had a new case that was super important. Is there any chance that her behavior has anything to do with it?” Scylla asked almost desperate. 

Tally automatically tried to remember when she started to notice that Raelle´s behavior got strange and after a few minutes of thinking she had come to the conclusion that Scylla could be right. The timing would, indeed, be a possibility who clearly spoke for that theory. Before she would say or do anything, she decided that it was best to talk to Abigail first and get her opinion on this as well.  
“I´m not completely sure but you could be right. Maybe it has something to do with the case. I would like to talk to Abigail first and find out what she thinks about this, but I really think that you might just have given us a huge lead.” Tally said feeling optimistic.  
“Let me know when you hear from her or when you find anything out. If I find something or remember anything, I will let you know but now I actually would like to go home” the brunette said sounding a little bit exhausted and tired.  
“Yeah of course, thank you for coming. I will let you know if and when we find something out. Get home safely and try to get some sleep. You look like you could use it…” the red head said a little worried.  
“There is no use in trying that you know? I can do that as soon as I got my Soulmate back...” Scylla said voice full of sadness.  
“You love her, don´t you?” Tally said, realization dawning on her.  
“With all of my heart. Soulmate or not, she would have stolen it anyway. She is everything I dreamed about and more. So much more… God Tally I can´t lose her” Scylla said, voice breaking. 

Tally immediately was at Scylla´s side, pulling her in a comforting hug.  
“I promise you that you won´t lose her. Abigail and I will do everything to end this and bring our Raelle back. Everything is going to be okay. No one is going to lose her, not you and neither are we okay?” Tally said in an attempt to convince not only Scylla but herself as well.  
Scylla only nodded, stepping back and whipping away a stray tear that had managed to escape her eye.  
“I´m going to go but thank you Tally. I will let you know if she is or was at home and we will talk again soon okay?” Scylla said trying to keep her shit together.  
“We will, I promise. Get home safely, Scylla.” Tally said, a little smile on her face.  
“You too.” The brunette replied quietly before turning around and leaving the bar.  
As soon as Scylla was outside, she took a deep breath. Feeling the cold air fill her lungs helped her to calm a little bit down. At least enough to not freak out in the middle of the sidewalk. After taking a few more deep breaths, she started to walk towards the train station, getting lost in her thoughts. She let the entire evening repeat inside of her head, going over everything that was being said, overanalyzing basically everything in the process. 

She was almost at her destination, the train station, when someone bumped into her, bringing her back to the here and now. It took her a minute to recognize her surroundings. The brunette quickly glanced at her phone to see how much time she had left before her train would arrive. Unfortunately, she had less then three minutes. Not wasting anymore time, Scylla maneuvered herself through the crowd as quickly as she could.  
Luckily, she managed to arrive a few seconds before her train did. She was breathing heavily because avoiding people at every cost while walking as fast as possible turned out to be really exhausting. Scylla wasn´t the biggest fan of sports of any kind. She always preferred staying home and reading a book. Much to her liking the rest of her way home was less stressful. 

Before entering the house, she looked around, hoping to find Raelle´s car somewhere only to get disappointed. The heavy feeling in her chest slowly coming back.  
The young woman entered the house, slowly walking up the stairs. She tried to prepare herself for the unavoidable. She didn´t even had to open the door to her apartment to know that it was empty. She couldn´t explain how she knew it, she just did deep inside of her heart. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Raelle was her Soulmate. The blonde basically was the reason her heart was beating in the first place. 

Scylla finally had the courage to open the door only to get confirmed what her heart already knew. The apartment was empty. The brunette stepped inside, closing the door softly. She took off her jacket and her shoes before walking further into her home. She turned on the light in the living room before she headed for the bedroom to get changed. 

When she came back, now in more comfortable clothes, she was determined to start her own little research. She trusted Tally and Abigail and she knew that they would do everything they could but Scylla couldn´t just sit around and do nothing. So, she decided that she would search the apartment for anything that could help Tally and Abigail, but she also wanted to try and find out more about that Soulmate thing. At least she had some distraction that way. 

Before starting her little project, she wrote Tally a quick text to let her know that Raelle wasn´t at home. As soon as she hit send, she threw her phone on the couch, got her Laptop and started her research.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year lovely people!
> 
> I hope you all had a good start into 2021 so far and that everything you wished and hoped for is becoming true. 
> 
> Now I wish you all lots of fun with the new chapter. As always let me know what you guys thing by leaving a comment or a kudo. 
> 
> Love, Ashisa

Chapter 14

Raelle slowly regained consciousness. Her head hurt like hell and she was still confused, trying to remember what had happened. When she opened her eyes, she quickly closed them again with a groan. More pain immediately exploding inside of her head. The blonde wanted to lift her hand in an attempt to touch her head and reduce the pain a little bit but she couldn´t do it. She needed a moment to realize that she was chained to a chair but then everything came rushing back to her. The investigation, the car chase and the accident followed by a memory of Ava standing in front of her, evil smirk on her face. 

Raelle was sure that everything was true and had really happened, the only thing she wasn´t so sure about was the part where Ava came into the picture. Did that really happen or was that just something her head had made up? 

Before she could think more about it, she heard a door open and someone enter. Shortly followed by the door closing again.   
“I know that you´re awake. Honestly it was about time, I really don´t like waiting.” A woman said, voice sounding familiar. Raelle kept her eyes and mouth shut.   
“Oh, come on, don´t ruin all the fun for me, Raelle” the woman said and as soon as she had said Raelle´s name the young woman knew that she hadn´t made Ava up.   
That part was also very real, and she was in trouble. 

She slowly opened her eyes, trying to give them the time they needed to get used to the light. It costed her all of her strength to not squeeze them shut again and groan in pain, instead she gritted her teeth together as hard as she could and glared at Ava.  
That only caused the smile on the other woman´s face to get bigger.   
“Ah, here we go, that is so much better. I especially like the part where you try to hide and cover up how miserable you are. This is going to be even better than I ever imagined.” Said Ava, joy in her voice. 

Raelle didn´t even had the time to see it coming. The next moment she was bend over gasping for air, after Ava punched her hard in her stomach.   
“I don´t know about you but damn that felt good!” the woman said to Raelle.   
“You little…” was all Raelle could get out while recovering from the punch. Usually, she could put away something like that quicker but considering that she had a car accident recently made it much more difficult.   
“What´s wrong, Raelle? Are you having trouble breathing?” asked Ava, innocently.   
“How about you unchain me, and we will find out how much trouble I have with breathing?” Raelle said with gritted teeth.   
“I´m sorry but I am afraid that I can´t do that. Not before I haven´t had my fun with you…” she said laughing, while walking around Raelle making a break before coming to a stop behind the blonde, leaning forward to continue, but this time whispering directly into Raelles ear.  
“When I´m done with you, you won´t be able to walk, talk or breath anyway. You can be sure that I will enjoy every second of it. I will make you pay for what you said to me.” 

Within a second, Ava was in front of Raelle again, punching her right in the face.   
A loud crack emerged through the room followed by a suppressed scream.   
Waterfall like, blood came out of Raelles nose. She was pretty sure that it was broken but she desperately tried to hide in how much pain she was. She really didn´t want to give Ava that satisfaction. So, she swallowed the pain and just starred at the woman in front of her. Eyes as cold as they could be. Waiting for the next punch.

\---------------------- At the same time -----------------------

Not feeling very cheerful or energetic today, Tally entered the office and made her way over to her desk. She was the first one to arrive which only caused her bad feeling to get worse.   
This morning she got another text from Scylla who wanted to let her know that she still hadn´t heard or seen Raelle and something deep inside of her already knew that the blonde wouldn´t be at work today either. She let herself fall into her chair with a sigh. A part of her still hoped that she was wrong and that Raelle would walk out of the elevator any second now but with every minute that went by her hope got less and less. It didn´t take long for Abigail to arrive.   
Tally could see the way the brunette’s eyes glanced at the empty desk and the worry that clouded them. She waited a few more seconds until Abigail sat at her desk before starting to talk.   
“Scylla still hasn´t heard or seen her. She texted me this morning to let me know. Abigail, something must be wrong. This is definitely not like her. Even on her worst days she never did something like that, and you know it!”   
“Of course I know that…” Abigail couldn´t say more because she was interrupted by Anacostia. The woman had made her way over to the two women, a strange look on her face.   
“Where´s Collar?” Quartermaine asked.   
Tally and Abigail looked at each other, not sure what to say or if they should say something at all but of course that didn´t go unnoticed.   
“I´m going to repeat my question once more and this time I want an answer so, where is Collar?!” their boss repeated her previous question with raised eyebrows.   
“We don´t know” said Abigail.   
“What do you mean you don´t know?” Anacostia asked now slightly confused.   
“What she means is, that we haven´t seen or heard from Raelle since yesterday morning. She practically disappeared or something.” This time it was Tally who had spoken.   
“You haven´t heard anything from her?” Anacostia asked, voice laced with something the women couldn´t quiet identify.   
“That´s correct” Abigail said.   
“Well, that is not so good considering the circumstances” their boss said.   
“What circumstances?” the red head asked confused.   
“I was informed that the woman who attacked Agent Collar managed to escape. Nobody knows how she did it, but the point is that she did and now I get the feeling that maybe it is not a coincidence that Collar is missing.” Quartermaine said, deep in thoughts. 

Thinking for a moment, and after sharing a quick look, Tally and Abigail decided to tell their boss everything they noticed the past few days. From her mood swings to the last time Tally had seen her. Not leaving anything out.   
When they were done the expression on Anacostia´s face was unreadable. They only watched her, waiting for the woman to say something. Instead, Anacostia walked a few feet away, pulled out her phone and seemed to call someone. It was a quick call and when she came back to the two agents, she informed them that she ordered to track down Raelles car and her phone. She knew that she had to wait a little bit longer or that she needed prove before she could issue a missing person report. 

In the meantime, she wanted the two women to get back to work, so they did. At least they tried to do that but both weren´t able to concentrate on the case. They couldn´t just ignore the fact that there was a chance that Raelle had been kidnapped. 

Around noon, they were called into Anacostia´s office. Tally´s stomach dropped to the ground, she swallowed hard before looking at Abigail. She could see that her friend was thinking the same thing. They made their way over to the office in silence, knocking on the door, waiting to get the permission to enter. When they did Abigail opened the door, stepping in first.   
As soon as Tally was in the room, she closed the door, walked over to Abigail and straightened her back, preparing herself for what she might get to hear in a few seconds. 

“The IT Team wasn´t able to track down Agent Collars last location. Her phone seems to be turned off, but we still got something. We found Agent Collars car. I send someone there to check if it really was hers. A few minutes ago, I got the confirmation.” Anacostia stopped talking for a few seconds, giving the two women in front of her time to process what she had told them before she would tell them the rest.   
“Collar was in an accident, unfortunately we don´t know how bad it was because she was nowhere near the vehicle. All we know for sure is that it´s her car with blood in it. I will send out a missing person report immediately. Finding her is our number one priority now.” The dark-haired woman ended her little speech. 

Tally was the first one to speak up.   
“We want to help. What can we do?”   
“I already thought that you would want to help. For now, all you can do is go to the prison and find out how the hell this woman could escape. I want a report as soon as you get back.” Their boss answered.   
Tally and Abigail only nodded before quickly exiting the office. They got their stuff and immediately left, not wasting one more second. They knew how important it was to work fast when someone was missing, in order to have a chance to finding that person alive, even more when kidnapping is involved. 

The whole car ride, both women stayed silent.   
As soon as Abigail had parked and wanted to get out, Tally said something.   
“We need to find her, Abigail. I really don´t know how I should explain this mess to Scylla. She is going to freak out…”   
“Hey, we will find her and we will bring her back to her! Plus, you don´t have to tell her alone. We can do it together.” Abigail said with a little smile on her face.   
“Okay, let´s go!” said the red head before leaving the car. 

After talking to a few people, it seemed that Tally and Abigail were stuck. Not one of the employees they talked to could give them any hints or useful information, which slowly led to Abigail getting frustrated and it was never a good thing when a Bellweather was frustrated. There was only one person left on their list, but before Tally called her in the room, she basically begged Abigail to behave. After only getting a nod from her friend, the red head stood up with a sigh and walked to the door. She let the waiting woman in and told her to sit down, smile on her face. 

Luckily, the woman in front of the two Agents turned out to be their win of the day. She couldn´t tell them how Ava had managed to escape but what she could tell them was that Ava had a visitor not long ago, a blonde FBI Agent with scar on her face but that wasn´t all. She also told them that Ava got letters on a regular basis. Of course, they checked them before sending them out or giving them to the inmates, that was the reason why the prison guard could tell them that Ava always talked about a woman in her letters which she had a unfinished business with and that she would deal with her as soon as she was out.   
At that Tally and Abigail shot up. The only logical conclusion was that Raelle was Ava´s unfinished business. 

Both quickly thanked the woman and said goodbye before heading out and rushing to the car.   
Throughout the car ride back to the headquarters they talked about the new information and what they should do as the next step.   
The way back seemed to go by faster but they didn´t mind that. It only meant they could back to work sooner. 

After parking the car, both exited the car and quickly made their way over to the builder and into the elevator. Once they arrived at their office they went to Anacostia, giving her a report about what they had found out. 

After almost an hour the two women sat down on their own desks, taking a deep breath. They had a plan now, one they thought could really be successful, but they still had to do the hardest part about all of this. They still had to tell Scylla the news.   
Without delaying it further, Tally took her phone and wrote Scylla a message asking her if Abigail and her could come over after work to talk. It took quite a while until she received an answer, which was kind of untypical for the brunette, but when she finally did answer she told her that it was okay that they would come over. 

The rest of the time went by awfully slow. Unfortunately, there wasn´t much they could do for now until wait and that was something Tally didn´t like so when it was finally time to leave, she was out there in a matter of seconds dragging Abigail with her.   
A part of the red head dreaded the conversation she had to have but the other part of her couldn´t get it over with soon enough. 

Without even noticing the young woman found herself standing in front of Scylla and Raelles Apartment, Abigail by her side, waiting to be let in.   
Abigail was about to knock again, impatient as she was, when the door finally opened. Nothing could have prepared them for what they were seeing in that moment.   
Scylla looked terrible. It clearly showed that she hadn´t slept at all considering the dark circles under her eyes but that was not all. Her eyes were really red which was a sign that she had cried for quite some time. 

Tally hated seeing the brunette like this but before she could say or do something, Scylla invited them in. They almost didn´t hear it because Scylla spoke really quietly.   
She led them to the living room and immediately started to clean up a little bit, apologizing for the chaos in the process. 

The red head shared a quick look with her friend before walking over to the brunette, placing her hand softly on the woman’s shoulder.   
“We don´t mind, Scylla. You can stop okay? Come sit down with me.”   
Tally could clearly see how frantic the woman in front of her was, so she smiled softly at her and led her over to the couch, sitting down with her. 

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Abigail walking around the room, taking a few books or papers into her hand to read them. Her face not showing anything, which was typical for Abigail Bellweather.   
Tally´s attention immediately was back with Scylla when the young woman began to speak with small voice.   
“What happened to her? Is she…” Scylla´s voice broke, tears threatening to come out of her eyes.   
Tally turned serious and quickly said,  
“We think that she is alive.”   
“What do you mean with ´you think´?” Scylla asked confused.   
The red head looked at Abigail, hoping that she would understand that she wanted her help delivering the news. Luckily her friend understood so all Tally did was take Scylla´s hand reassuringly and wait for Abigail to speak up.   
“Her car was found at a scene of an accident, but she was nowhere to be found. There was blood in the car, her blood, but considering the circumstances of the accident it is not untypical that there is blood plus she was nowhere to be found.” Said Abigail while sitting down opposite the two other women, making a little break before continuing.  
“Another thing we learned today is that the woman who attacked and injured Raelle managed to escape from prison. We still don´t know how she did it but we are working on finding it out but that is not the point at the moment. What I´m trying to say is that we think Raelle was being kidnapped. We suspect that it´s not a coincidence that Raelle went missing around the time where her attacker escaped out of prison…” Abigail finished, looking at the two women in front of her, waiting for Scylla to process the said things. 

It was quiet for a few minutes, Scylla just sat there starring at her floor completely zooming out. Tally looked worriedly at her friend and colleague, trying to find out what she should do or say next when all of a sudden, the brunette beside her began to speak.   
“So, you basically just told me that the woman I love had a car accident, is hurt and was being kidnapped by the person who already tried to kill her? I understood that correctly?”   
“Yes, you did” was all Abigail said as a response.   
“What are you planning to do to find her?” the brunette asked.  
“We can´t tell you that, we told you too much already. You just have to trust us that we do everything we can to find her and that we won´t stop until we have her back!” once again was Abigail the one who answered but Tally could see that Scylla wasn´t fully convinced, that her worry over Raelle was still bigger. That was the moment when the red head found her voice again. She turned her body towards the brunette beside her, getting her attention in the process.   
“Scylla, she means a lot to us as well. I promise you that we won´t stop looking for her until we found and saved her. We want her back just as much as you do, I can assure you that.” 

After a moment Scylla started to nod her head slowly, letting herself fall back into the couch, fighting back tears before whispering   
“After reading all this stuff about that Soulmate thing and hearing this now I´m really afraid I will never get the chance of telling her that I…” that was the moment when she couldn´t hold back her tears anymore. Tally immediately pulled her into a hug trying to give her some sort of comfort while Abigail just sat there, watching them, thinking about what Scylla just had said about the Soulmate bond. She needed longer than she liked but eventually her head managed to catch up.   
“Scylla what exactly have you found out about the Soulmate bond? You were saying you read about it. Now the books and all these printed papers I noticed earlier make so much more sense” Abigail said suddenly, catching the two other women by surprise.   
Sniffing a few times and whipping away the tears Scylla sat up a little straighter again, trying to get her focus back so she was able to answer Abigail.   
“Well, all this uncertainty drove me crazy so last night, I decided that I wanted to know a little bit more about this Soulmate bond thing and started to research it a little bit on the internet and through books. As you can see by all this chaos my `little research` quickly escalated after finding one specific article on the internet.” The brunette answered.   
“I noticed something yesterday, something that frightened me so I started reading everything I could find and in this one Article was being said that the Bond could go away like it was never there. Things like starting to see things in black and white again, that the heart would beat less and less until it stopped completely again…” said Scylla but stopped, needing a little break to collect herself for what she was about to say next. 

Tally and Abigail looked at her, a mix of curiosity and worry in their eyes, waiting for her to speak up again.   
“One of the reasons who could start something like this is that the Soulmate is too far away for way too long. This could cause it but there was another reason.” The brunette said reluctantly.   
“What was the other reason, Scylla?” asked Abigail impatient.   
“When their Soulmate is weak like physically and psychically and gets weaker and weaker the bond from her side gets weaker as well. Basically, when one of them is dying slowly the other one feels it as well through the loss of her heartbeat and seeing colors…” Scylla answered, a tear running down her cheek.   
“Scylla, what have you noticed that caused you to start this?” said the Bellweather while looking at the mess around them.   
“I´m starting to lose the ability to see colors and I started to control my heartbeat. For now, it´s still beating but not like it used to when Raelle was around. It misses one or two beats. Regarding to my research that means that the bond is starting to break…” the brunette said almost whispering. 

All three of them stayed silent after that, immersed in their own thoughts for a while, before they decided that they would stay the night. Neither Tally nor Abigail felt comfortable leaving the brunette alone, so they decided to stay and help her finding out more about this.   
After all this was something they had to take seriously. If all of this was true, then they know had a way of finding out how much time they had left before they would lose Raelle.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, 
> 
> I decided that I would wait to post this chapter until the next one is done. Soooo, I finally had the time to write the next one. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. As always let me know what you think! 
> 
> Love,  
> Ashisa :)

Chapter 15

She doesn´t know how long it took before she passed out again. At one point she stopped counting the punches she had received, the pain had gotten way too much for her but if she was being honest she was glad she had passed out. That way she was able to catch a little break before the next round would start. 

Unfortunately, Ava had way too much fun which led to her coming back sooner and sooner, giving Raelle less and less time to recover and get ready for the next round.   
This time she was harshly woken up with ice cold water who got dumped right into her face, adrenaline coming in hard. She loudly exhaled looking around the room, confused for a second, until she remembered where she was. The blonde fixated the woman who stood in front of her, huge smile on her face.  
“I´m so glad you´re awake, Raelle!” said Ava.   
“It´s not like I had much of a choice did I?” Raelle said through gritted teeth.   
“Oh, why so grumpy Rae?” she woman said teasingly.   
“I don´t know. Maybe, just maybe it´s because I can´t see through one of my eyes because it´s so swollen or the lack of sleep and food. It also could be the dehydration or maybe it’s the fact that a psycho has kidnapped me because she couldn´t deal with the truth that her husband died and became a terrorist instead. Hard to tell what exactly dumped my mood…” answered the blonde, knowing that it probably wasn´t the best idea to mention the dead husband again considering that she was chained to a chair and couldn´t defend herself or that she wasn´t in a pretty good shape.   
Hell, she didn´t even knew how long she was there. She had lost all sense of time.   
“I have to say it´s really brave of you to make my husband a topic again. Makes me wonder if you like being in pain or if you´re just suicidal...” was all Ava said before she turned around and made her way over to a table. Raelle tried to recognize what was lying on it but her eyes let her down. No matter how hard she tried she couldn´t focus long enough to see anything but it didn´t matter anyway because Ava quickly decided how she wanted to torture Raelle this time.

With an evil smirk she turned around, anticipation in her eyes.   
“I think it´s time for something new. I´m getting slightly bored with the old stuff. You know, you always sitting there, me always punching you. I guess it´s time to spice it all a little bit up and give your legs something to do. You sat long enough anyway” said Ava.   
“What do you…” was all Raelle was able to say before a fist collided with the side of her head, knocking her out temporarily. 

When Raelle regained her consciousness she immediately noticed that something was different. She was no longer sitting on a chair, she was standing more or less. Her legs couldn´t quite carry her full weight after sitting for this long but at least Raelle wouldn´t need to worry about them giving up on her and she falling down because Ava had hung her up on her hands.   
This is not good was all that Raelle could think about. Now Ava had way more ways to hurt her and more space to do so.   
Suddenly the blonde noticed something, or someone, leaning against a wall on the other side of the room. 

“Who are you?” asked Raelle.  
“Doesn´t matter” a young man said.   
“You know, I kind of like to know the names of the people who torture me so for me it matters. I would say I start but I´m pretty sure you already know who I am.” Raelle said overly friendly.   
“I´m not here to torture you, Raelle. Actually I´m not even supposed to be in here at all.” The still nameless guy answered.   
“I still don´t know who you are” Raelle answered, slightly annoyed.   
“I need to go before Ava comes back. I was in here for too long.” The man said, while pushing himself of the wall and making his way to the door. He already has a hand on the handle when he stops to turn around one last time. Raelle could see that he was fighting with himself, contemplating if he should say what he had on his mind or not but lastly, he just shook his head and left. 

Raelle watched him go, slightly confused about the whole situation. Why should he come in here if he´s not allowed to do so and then just stay there, say three sentences, and then leave? This made absolutely no sense for the blonde. Something about this visit was strange but the fact that the young man looked some kind of familiar to her confused her even more. She had to remember where she had seen him before. She had the feeling that it could be important in order to getting out of here. Maybe he was her way out.   
Raelle knew that if she was right, she had to remember fast because she got weaker with every hour that passed. She would try to fight for as long as she could, but she also knew that she didn´t have so much more time. She had noticed differences a few days, at least she thinks it were a few days, about herself.   
Stuff like not being able to see every color anymore and the fact that her heart seemed to beat not as it did before. The young agent had no idea what this meant, if it just had to do with the fact that she got weaker and weaker with every passing hour or if something happened to Scylla but as soon as her thoughts went this way, she swallowed them down. There is no way in the world that her friends would not do everything to protect the woman she loved. 

They had to know by now that she was kidnapped, they were probably doing everything they could to find and safe her, but she knew that Tally and Abigail would also look after Scylla and take care of her. They would make sure she was safe. They would do it for Raelle because they knew how important the brunette was to her.   
Thinking about them, the people she loved, gave her the strength to keep going, to keep fighting. She had to hold on until they would find her. She still had to apologize to them for the way she acted and the way she treated them. She regretted her decision deeply now and wished she could go back in time and ask for their help instead of doing it alone, but she couldn´t so everything she could do now was keep going and survive until they would rescue her. 

Right in this moment the door opened, and Ava entered the room, smile on her face. Raelle had seen this smile enough times now to know that this round would be especially painful for her. 

“Shall we begin?” asked Ava excited.   
Raelle didn´t even tried to answer. She just closed her eyes and thought about this one thing on earth that could give her the strength to keep going. She thought about Scylla. The way she smiled when she liked something, her laugh that could brighten Raelles mood within seconds or the way she scrunched up her nose when something wasn´t going as planned while she was in the kitchen trying out a new recipe. Just thinking about her Soulmate was enough for her to find new strength in her weak body and Raelle swore to herself in this moment that if she would come out of here alive, she would finally tell Scylla that she loved her. She would not chicken out again, no she would tell her, and she would apologize to her for all that happened. She would do anything to get Scylla´s forgiveness. 

With Scylla on her mind the next round of torture began. It started with Ava punching her a few times as hard as she could. It seemed to be some kind of warm up for her punisher until the real thing would start. All Raelle had to do was wait for her body to give up and that sweet unconsciousness to take over. 

Unfortunately for the blonde, Ava never let that happen. Every time when Raelle was about to pass out, Ava stopped, giving her the time to recover a little bit until she continued with the torture.

Ava did this for hours until she couldn´t control herself anymore and went to far, giving Raelle the break she so desperately needed in the process. 

\---------------------------- a few days later -----------------------------

Raelle knew that her time was slowly running out, she could feel it. She was barely able to see color at all and her heartbeat was barely there anymore. A part of her was afraid that something was wrong with Scylla but the other part of her knew that the reason for losing the perks of having a soulmate had to do with her and her condition. After all, Ava had systematically refused her water and food for who knows how long, combined with the ongoing torture her body is slowly giving up. She had no time to heal, barely had slept and had a few infected wounds. She also was running a fever who seemed to worsen drastically. 

She had no idea for how much longer she could keep going but she wanted to try. She was not ready to give up the hope that her friends would find her. She just couldn´t, after all hope was the only thing she had left, and she would hold on to it for as long as she could. She had come out if this alive for Scylla and her friends. For her family. 

All of a sudden, she started to hear noises outside of her door. A lot of voices screaming different things she couldn´t quite understand, many people running passed the room where she was being kept followed by the first gun shot who quickly turned in a thousand of them. 

Raelle looked around the room, then up her arms where her hands were tied together, and she was hung up. She had to find a way to free herself and find a weapon soon in order to fight and protect herself from any more damage. After all this could be her chance of getting out of here.   
The blonde frantically looked through the room, trying to find something she could reach, anything, that could help her but of course Ava was not stupid enough to leave something behind. Frustration and disappointment slowly filling Raelle.   
This was her chance, and she could do absolutely nothing. Out of pure frustration Raelle began to try and free her hands but everything she managed to do is hurt herself in the process. 

Luckily before she could hurt herself even more the door to the room was being opened and the young man from a few days before entered in a hurry looking slightly out of breath. They stared at each other before he made his way over to Raelle and began to try and free her. 

“What are you doing?” the blonde asked confused.  
“I´m trying to help you get out of here alive” he answered without looking at Raelle.  
“Why? A few days back you couldn´t even tell me your name and now you want to help me. That doesn´t really make sense, so why are you helping me?” the blonde asked hoping to get an answer.   
“I´m done following orders from that bitch Ava. She has a personal vendetta against you and I can´t let her kill you…” he said.   
“Why can´t you let her kill me? Why do you care?” Raelle asked.   
“Because she would never get over losing you….” He answered silently.   
Now Raelle was even more confused than before but before she could ask, he finally managed to free her hands.   
After hanging from the ceiling for a few days, her arms just dropped to her side, her legs couldn´t carry her full weight as well but luckily the still anonymous man was there to catch her fall.   
“Okay we need to get you out of here before…” he was saying while getting interrupted.   
“Before what exactly?” said Ava with cold voice. Starring just as coldly at the man besides Raelle. 

Silence filled the room. The man besides Raelle, who held her up, just standing there completely frozen, fear in his eyes.   
Slowly, Raelle detached herself from his side, standing on her own feet. Preparing herself for the unavoidable. By the look in Ava´s eyes the blonde could tell that the man beside her was in danger. 

Raelle watched Ava carefully, recognizing every movement she made. That was something Raelle was used to do. In a job like hers it was important to notice every little detail and every little movement. In situations like these, with someone as crazy as the woman in front of her, one mistake was enough and could cost you your life. Every stiff muscle in her body tightened, ready to do whatever she had to do in order to get out alive. 

Suddenly everything happened extremely fast. In a blink of an eye Ava had pulled out a gun and was aiming at the young man, seemingly forgetting that Raelle was also in the room with them.   
The blonde could see how Ava was about to pull the trigger and shot the young man who saved her. Even if she basically still didn´t knew anything about him, besides that he tried to safe her, Raelle made a decision. She jumped forward as fast as she could and tackled Ava to the ground in an attempt to stop her from shooting or at least to redirect the shot.   
The sudden impact caught Ava by surprise, which let her stumble backwards and then fall with Raelle on top of her, unfortunately it was to late.   
A shot was fired from the gun but before Raelle could look if her savior got hit, she had to deal with Ava first. Luckily her tormentor was still slightly dazed from the fall, so it was easy for Raelle to disarm her and knock her out with the handle of the gun. 

As soon as Raelle was sure that Ava was unconscious she stood up and turned around only to find her savior leaning against the wall, pressing his hands on his stomach in order to stop the blood from coming out of his wound. The young agent quickly made her way over to him, guilt written all over her face.   
“I´m so sorry…” she said.   
“You have to get out of here!” he said a little out of breath.   
“No, I won´t leave you behind.” The young agent answered.   
“You have to. I knew the risk when I decided to help you…” he said silently while slowly sliding down the wall.   
“I still don´t understand why you did that but you can tell me when we both got out of here okay?” Raelle said.   
“I won´t get out of here, we both know that. I´m losing to much blood. It won´t take long until I will lose consciousness…” he said while a cough escaped.   
“Then I go get help. You saved me, I can´t just let you die!” Raelle said desperate.   
“It´s not your fault Raelle, besides I didn´t just do it for you. I had to make up for something. That was my way of doing it, by saving you so please just go and do that. Your friends should be here soon as well. I called the FBI and gave them a little hint where they could find you” he said with a little smile on his pale face.   
“This was the second time you mentioned someone else. That you did it for someone else but for who? Please tell me…” the blonde asked hopefully.   
“Scylla of course. I know her from back in the day where I did and acted a way I´m not proud of. I had to make up for it and what better way would than to safe her Soulmate?” he said with a little laugh followed by more coughing.   
“Oh my god, that’s why you seemed familiar to me. You were on a photo Scyl showed me a while back. You´re Porter aren´t you?” she answered.   
“Yeah, I am and I´m sure she told you how I treated her after her parents died and the truth came out about them, how I acted. I never had the chance to tell her how sorry I am. Well, I guess I won´t get it after all but could you tell her that I´m sorry and that I didn´t meant what I said that day? Please?” Porter said begging, sad smile on his face.   
“I will tell her, and I will tell her what you did for me. I promise. We both will never forget you or what you did…” Raelle said silently. 

She could see that breathing became harder and harder for him.  
“She forgave you a long time ago, Porter. She told me that the day she told me about you. So, your forgiven okay?” she whispered.   
“Thank you…” was all he said before he closed his eyes and his breathing stopped.   
Raelle stayed by his side for a few more minutes, trying to process everything that just happened but when she heard someone move behind her, rage overcame and filled her whole body. She stood up and turned around looking at Ava who tried to stand up in that moment. Every rational thought left her head, all she could think about was the pure hate she felt towards the woman in front of her and so she let it guide her. She walked over to her, kicking her legs so that she would kneel before her. While starring down at her, Raelle pulled out the gun she took earlier, pointing it at Ava.   
“Do you think I´m afraid now just because you aim a gun at me? That it´s over?” Ava said arrogant.   
“I don´t care if you’re afraid of me or not because today it will end. You will pay for what you did to me, and to him and to my friends and my family. You will pay for what you did to my mom.” Answered Raelle with cold voice. She took a step closer and pressed the gun against Ava´s forehead, finger moving to the trigger, ready to shoot.   
“You won´t shoot me, Raelle” Ava said convinced.   
“I wouldn´t be so sure about that, Ava” Raelle said before quickly adding  
“at least you’re going to see your husband again. Oh, wait I forgot that you’re going to hell for everything that you did…”

With a loud scream Ava jumped forward, trying to grab the gun but Raelle held on to it for dear life. The young agent lost her footing, still pretty weak, and fell to the ground, Ava on top of her still trying to get the gun.   
Each of them landing a few punches and kicks, even a few scratches while fighting over the gun and for their lives before the sound of a gunshot filled to room. Ending the fight between the two women once and for all.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys, 
> 
> I would really love to hear your predictions and thoughts about this story! I honestly don't know how many chapters there will be but I would really like to know what your wishes would be for the ending and what you want to see or more like read. 
> 
> So just leave a comment and let me know. I would really appreciate it! 
> 
> Have fun with the new Chapter, my Loves.
> 
> Love, Ashisa :)

Chapter 16

Suddenly the door busts open, revealing Abigail. She scanned the room with her eyes, trying to find out if the shot she had heard a few seconds ago came from here but she only saw two body´s lying around. She was about to turn around and leave to continue her search for Raelle when she heard someone coughing followed by movements.   
Abigail quickly turned around and walked further into the room, her gun in her hand, ready to shoot if necessary. 

“Raelle?” she asked carefully but instead of an answer all she became was another cough. She kept walking towards the body on the floor because there came the coughing from. The nearer she came the more she recognized that there was another body, another person, trapped under the other one who tried to free herself.   
Getting slower and aiming her gun at the person who tried to get out under the seemingly dead person on top of her, she asked again.  
“Raelle?”  
After a few seconds she could her a response.   
“Abigail.” It was only faintly but she immediately recognized the voice.   
She put her gun away and went over to her friend, helping her remove the body who was on top of her before she helped Raelle to stand up.   
“You really have bad karma, Shitbird. It´s unbelievable in how many bad situations you can get yourself in a short amount of time.” Said Abigail while shaking her head.   
“I´m glad to see you too, Bellweather.” 

Without a warning Abigail pulled her into a hug, shocking the blonde to the core. Never in a million years Raelle would have thought that something like this would ever happen but the fact that it did only showed her how bad the situation must have been. Abigail Bellweather would never hug someone or show this much of emotion for someone if it wasn´t necessary or looked bad. When they separated a few seconds later Abigail began to speak.   
“Never do that again, Raelle. We were all worried about you and worked our asses of since you went missing. Oh, and don´t let me start with Scylla… she has been worried sick about you. Especially since she started her little research about that whole Soulmate thing you two have going on.”   
“Okay you have to explain the part with the research for me later, but Abigail how long was I missing?”   
Abigail didn´t answer right away but when she finally began to talk it was not to answer Raelles question, much to her dislike. Instead, Abigail said  
“I should tell Tally that I found you and then get you out of here. We need to get you to a hospital. You look like shit, Collar.”   
As soon as she finished her sentence, she let Tally know that she had found Raelle and where she was so the red head could come to them but Raelle had to know the answer to her question, so she grabbed Abigail´s arm and spun her back around, so she would face her again.   
“Abigail stop trying to distract me! Tell me, how long was I gone?!” the blonde asked frantically.   
“You were missing for almost three weeks, Raelle…” Abigail said reluctantly.

Shocked, Raelle took a few steps back. The adrenalin that run through her veins a few minutes ago slowly subsided.   
Exhaustion, dehydration, the lack of food and all her injuries came rushing back, now that the adrenalin kick was over.   
Slowly her vision started to get blurry and her legs got weaker with every second that went by. Abigail seemed to notice the change in Raelle as well. She slowly made a step towards the blonde and said,  
“Rae, I think you should sit down for a moment, you look pretty pale…”   
Before Raelle could answer, the two women got interrupted by Tally who entered the room. Her eyes immediately finding Raelle, relieved smile on her face. Which turned out to be the last thing that Raelle should see that day before unconsciousness took over her body. 

Tally watched in horror as Raelle fell to the ground, hitting it hard.   
“RAELLE!” the red head shouted before she run over to her friend, checking her pulse. It took her a few seconds, in which she almost freaked out, but in the end she finally found a pulse. It was extremely weak but at least there still was one. Tally looked at Abigail, who was also besides Raelle.   
“We need to get her to a hospital immediately.” She said determinedly.   
“An ambulance is already waiting outside to take her to the hospital. Quartermaine ordered one just in case…” Abigail said while picking up Raelle with Tally´s help, carrying her out of the room.   
“Thank god she did” answered Tally. 

As fast as they could, while carrying Raelle together, they made their way outside of the building, heading straight towards the waiting ambulance.   
The rescuers wasted no time, they took Raelle and laid her on a stretcher, checking her vital signs and giving her some IV bags to stabilize her enough for the car ride to the hospital before driving away, leaving Abigail and Tally behind.   
Unfortunately for them they couldn´t just get in the car and drive after them. No, they had to take care of a few things first, because after all this was still their work, even if it involves one from their team and in this case also friend. 

Almost an hour later Tally and Abigail entered the hospital, looking for someone they could ask about where Raelle was. Luckily, they quickly found a nurse which they approached.   
“Excuse me? Could you help me please?” Tally asked politely.   
The nurse turned around, giving the two women in front of her a warm smile.   
“Of course. How can I help you?” she asked sweetly.   
“We are looking for our friend and colleague, her name is Raelle Collar. She was brought here almost an hour ago with an ambulance.” Answered Abigail.   
“Oh, you mean the young blonde woman don´t you?” the nurse asked.   
“Yeah, exactly! Do you know where she is?” Tally asked, hopefully.   
“I don´t know where she is at the moment but when you give me a minute, I can find it out for you.”  
“Thank you, that would be great.” Answered Abigail, polite smile on her face.   
The nurse nodded her head before leaving the two to get the information they needed. 

A few minutes later she came back.   
“Your friend is currently in intensive care. That’s on the fifth floor, room 525. My colleagues know that you two are coming so they will let you in and bring you to her, but you have to know that she is still unconscious, and you can´t stay for long. Her doctor will be notified as soon as the two of you are there so he can explain you everything you need to know. Now you should go see your friend.” The nurse said, slightly sad smile on her face.   
“Thank you very much for your help!” Tally said before leaving the woman behind and heading towards the elevator with Abigail by her side.   
Once they were inside and the doors are closed, Tally pulled out her phone in order to call Scylla, but she was stopped by Abigail. The red head looked at her friend confused.   
“Don´t call her. Let´s wait until we talked to the doctor and saw her. Once we did that I´m going to get her and bring her here. I think it´s better if she is not alone, you saw her the last few weeks Tal. We can´t just tell her the news over the phone and let her come here alone.” Abigail explained her actions.   
“Okay” was all the red head said while putting her phone away again, just in time for the elevator doors to open on the fifth floor. They quickly exited it, making their way over to the first person they could find.   
“Hey, sorry to disturb you but we got send up here. We wanted to see Raelle Collar and talk to her doctor.” Tally explained.   
“Yeah, we were expecting you. I have to ask you to wait a little bit in the waiting area. Miss Collars doctor wants to talk to you first before you can see her, but we already paged him so he should be here soon.” The woman said.   
“Okay, thank you” Tally said and walked to the waiting area with Abigail. 

After twenty minutes Abigail couldn´t stand watching Tally walk back in forth.   
“Could you please sit down, Tal? You´re driving me nuts so please sit down or I will force you to and that is a promise” Abigail said annoyed.   
“I´m sorry but I can´t just sit around. I hate being left in the dark. I just need to know what´s going on” the red head answered, worriedly.   
“I know Tal, but you are not helping her by walking back and forth. Believe me when I tell you that I don´t like to wait either and that I want to know what´s going on just as bad as you want to, but the only thing we can do for now is wait. Plus, I´m sure the doctor will be here soon, but can you please sit down?” the Bellweather said beggingly. 

Tally sat down beside her friend, laying her head on her shoulder.   
“I can´t stop thinking about how bad she looked, Abs…” the red head admitted.   
“I can´t stop thinking about it too, Tal” Abigail said silently.   
“I don´t even want to imagen what she went through the last few weeks, what she had to endure…”   
“Hey, no matter what happened, she will get through it. She has us and she has Scylla. We will help her. She is one of the strongest and bravest people I know and if you ever tell her that I said that I will totally deny it and say you just made it up. I don´t want Shitbird to get the wrong idea.” Said Abigail with a little laugh, trying to lighten the mood a little bit. 

Just in that moment a slightly elder man, approached them. They both stood up immediately, looking at him expectantly.   
“Am I assuming correctly that you both are here for Miss Collar?” he asked them.   
“Yeah, that’s correct. How is she?” Abigail answered for the both of them.   
“Miss Collar is still unconscious but for now that is a good thing. Her condition is pretty bad to be honest. She has a few broken ribs and a lot of bruises. Some of them are worse than the others. She is also fighting a pretty high fever. We think that is inflicted by the many infected injuries and cuts on her body, especially the one on her arm. We need to keep a closer look on that one. Besides that, Miss Collar was systematically starved and dehydrated. Whoever did this wanted to make sure that she was in a lot of pain. It was a good thing you found her because her body couldn´t handle all of this for much longer. She also needs to stay in the intensive care Unit for a few days, at least until she woke up, her fever went down, and her vital signs went back to normal. If you want, you can go see her now but not for long.” The man finished his little dialogue.   
“Before we go see her, I would like to ask you something if that is okay?” Tally said.   
“Of course, just ask me.” The man said politely.   
“Raelle, Miss Collar, she has a girlfriend. She is actually more than that. She is her Soulmate, and she went through a lot the last few weeks. My colleague right here would go and get her, but I wanted to make sure that she is allowed to stay by Miss Collars side.” The red head said.   
“Unfortunately, I don´t think that I can grand you that wish. We can only allow immediate family to stay after visiting hours.”   
“Well, she technically is Miss Collars immediate family. Please allow her to stay. I think that it will only help Miss Collar in her healing process.” Tally basically begged at this point. 

The older man just looked at them, contemplating what he should do. At the end he shook his head with a sight and said,   
“Okay, she can stay.”   
“Thank you, Sir. We really appreciate it.” Abigail answered, shaking his hand.

They said their goodbyes and made their way over to Raelle´s room, but both hesitated to open the door. They just stared at it, preparing themselves.   
Abigail made a step forward, placing her hand on the door handle, but before she opened the door she looked back at her friend and asked,  
“Are you ready?”   
Tally nodded her head yes and watched Abigail open the door and entering the room, following her closely. Once they were in the room, the red head closed the door silently before walking over to the bed, picking up a chair on her way.   
She sat down and took a closer look on her friend. She was still extremely pale and now, with better lighting Tally could clearly see the bruises on Raelles arms and on her face, as well as the cut on her eyebrow but she also noticed that Raelle was thinner. No wonder considering what the doctor had told them… 

The red head was pulled out of her thoughts by Abigail who let her know that she would leave now to get Scylla. Tally only nodded, her mind still far away, while watching Abigail leave the room. 

After a moment of silence, Tally started to speak quietly.   
“I wish you would have told us what was going on with you instead of doing it on your own…”   
Of course, she didn´t get an answer but that didn´t stop her from continuing.   
“You know there are people that love you, Raelle. You can´t keep doing stuff like this. We were all worried sick, Abigail as well. Not that she would actually admit it but she was worried about you but the worst thing was seeing Scylla. Having to tell her that you were missing and everything in between. God, seeing her after she started to read more about the whole Soulmate bond and noticing that she lost everything that came with it… I´m almost glad you didn´t see her like this, Rae. It was so hard to stop her from going out and start a search party of her own.” A small giggle escaped Tally saying this.   
“I honestly don´t know how you manage to keep her in check but on the other hand she has to deal with you, and I know how stubborn you can be, so I guess you two are a pretty good match.” Tally finished with a little smile, staying silent after. 

The rest of the time she just sat beside Raelles bed, deep in thoughts, while waiting for Abigail to return with Scylla. Just as she thought it, the door opened and Abigail entered, alone. Confused Tally raised an eyebrow.   
“Where is Scylla?” she asked.   
“I asked her to wait outside for a minute so we could say goodbye. I think she needs to be alone with her now. I told her everything the doctor told us on the drive here.” Abigail answered.   
“That might be a good idea, Abs” Tally said with a little smile. 

They both said their goodbye´s, before leaving the room and meeting Scylla in the hall.   
The three women talked for a short time, mostly just to let Scylla know that she could call any of them at any time if she needed to talk or something was wrong. They also let her know that they would be back at some point the next day.   
Scylla thanked both of them before saying goodbye and walking towards the room where her Soulmate was. 

Three weeks. She was about to finally see Raelle again after three weeks. The brunette was feeling a lot of emotions at the moment. Relieve, disbelieve, anger. So much anger but what she was feeling even more was love. Love for the woman who was lying behind this door. No matter how angry she was at her, it could never outweigh the huge amount of love she felt for this one person. Not in a million years. 

She took one last deep breath before she opened the door slowly and entered the room. Immediately her eyes landed on Raelle. A new wave of relieve washed over her body. Just hearing that she was back was not the same thing than seeing her with own eyes. All this worry and pain from the last three weeks, hell even longer, finally fell of Scylla´s shoulders. She finally had her back.   
She quickly made her way over to the bed, sitting down in the chair beside it, carefully taking Raelle´s hand in her own. She just had to touch her, feel her again to make sure that she wasn´t dreaming.   
Without realizing it the brunette had started crying. No matter how happy she was that Raelle had been found alive, it hurt her to see her like this. Bruised from head to toe, knowing a part what she had to go through. Being in a hospital again. It was all just too much, so the brunette just allowed herself to cry and let it all out. 

Scylla didn´t know how much time had passed but at one point she had no tears left to cry. She was feeling slightly better, exhausted, but still better. She lifted Raelles hand and kissed it gently.  
“You need to stop doing this to me. To everyone. We were all so worried about you. We still are” whispered the brunette.   
“I started to read more about Soulmates, wanting to know more about it when I noticed that I was about to lose the perks that come along with it. In some sort of way, I could feel you getting weaker or more like I could feel how you were slowly dying…” Scylla said with a little break, voice trembling.  
“After I lost my parents, I thought that this was the worse pain someone could feel and that nothing could ever top that, but I was wrong. I can´t lose you, Rae so please, I´m begging you, NEVER do that again and never leave me. You are my world and I…” Scylla´s voice broke, new tears escaped her eyes. She laid her head on the bed, still holding Raelles hand and cried until she fell asleep from exhaustion. 

The next thing Scylla remembers is hearing someone move, followed by a little cough.   
Her brain needed a moment to recognize her surroundings and where she was. Scylla was looking around the Hospital room, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, trying to find the source of the noises. At first, she thought that it probably was a nurse who checked on Raelle but there was literally no one in the room. Confused she turned around, sitting up straight in the chair, automatically taking Raelles hand in her own again and starting to play with her fingers.   
“Are you really here or is my head playing with me again?” said the blonde with weak voice.   
Scylla immediately turned her head towards the bed only to be met by the eyes she loved so much starring back at her causing the brunette to lose the ability to speak.   
“If this is just another trick of my mind, I don´t want it to stop…” the blonde spoke up again, voice still weak.   
This time, Scylla found her voice again.   
“It´s really me baby…” Scylla whispered, placing a soft kiss on Raelles hand.   
“I wish that this would be true… I miss you so much Scyl, I haven´t given up just yet but I don´t know how much longer my body can take it. I really tried to come back to you Scyl, please believe me…” Raelle whispered while her eyes slowly closed.

Before the brunette had the chance to answer and reassure the blonde that this was reality, she was already unconscious again but her breathing started to accelerate dramatically. That was the moment when Scylla noticed the sweat on Raelles forehead. Sweat who wasn´t there a little while ago.   
The young woman was about to stand up to get someone who could check if everything was okay when one of the monitors besides Raelle started to make loud noises. 

Not even ten seconds later the door to the room opened and two nurses plus a doctor rushed inside the room. Scylla immediately made space for them, not wanting to be in the way, and just watched how they tried to help her girlfriend.   
Half an hour later, Raelle was stabile again and sleeping peacefully. It turned out that the infection she had from the cut on her arm caused her vital signs to go down that drastically and her fever to shoot through the roof. The doctor had given her a higher dose of antibiotics and some painkillers which should grant Raelle and her body the rest she so desperately needed but they were positive that they could get the infection under control now that they knew that the dose of antibiotics was to low. 

The brunette had tried to stay awake just in case if something else should happen but her body had another plan. The lack of sleep quickly caught up with her and knocked her out. For the first time in weeks, Scylla was able to sleep peacefully, knowing that when she would wake up Raelle would be there.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey my lovely readers :) 
> 
> I'm back with a new chapter. Unfortunately I really don't know how much longer this story will last. It's getting harder and harder to write chapters. This story will probably end soon and not really in the way I intended it to but of course I will try to write an ending this story deserves because I had the time of my life writing it. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think or what you would like to read before it ends. I would love to read all your thoughts! 
> 
> but now lots of fun with the new chapter! Can't wait to know what all of you are thinking. 
> 
> Love, Ashisa :)

Chapter 17

Raelle woke up to the noise of a door open and close again, followed by footsteps. Also not helping were her throbbing head and her dry mouth. She couldn´t remember the last time she was this thirsty.   
The blonde kept her eyes closed for a few more moments, she was definitely not ready to face Ava again. Her mind had played her bad while she was unconscious. This time everything felt so real… she could have sworn that it wasn´t just a cruel trick of her mind but she knew better. Too many times she had let herself believe what her mind had made up only to get crushed by reality. 

Once again Raelle heard a noise but this time she slowly opened her eyes. One reason for that was to give them the time they needed to get used to the light around her.   
Reason two was that she really didn´t wanted to see Ava´s face. So, she enjoyed every second she could get in which she didn´t have to see it. 

When her eyes adjusted to the lights and started to actually do their work Raelle immediately frowned. She wasn´t in that room anymore. Then she started to notice more of her surroundings like the smell, the beeping sounds around her and the white walls. She also was lying in a bed. Why was she lying in a bed? What the hell had Ava planned with her?   
Panic started to fill her body, her heart started to beat faster, breathing became harder once again. The blonde frantically looked around herself, noticing even more things which only made her panic worse. She was about to rip out one of the tubes in her arm when two hands stopped her, followed by the most beautiful voice she knew.   
“Rae, stop. It´s okay. You´re safe baby.”   
“Scyl?” whispered Raelle.   
“Yeah, baby it´s me.” Scylla reassured her.   
“Did she get you too? Please say this is just another dream…” the blonde said.   
“You´re not dreaming. This is real and I´m really here. Abigail and Tally got you out of there, remember? You´re in the hospital.” Scylla explained with calm voice, but she could still see this fear and panic in Raelles eyes, so she continued talking.   
“You have to calm down for me baby okay? Just look at me and take a deep breath when I do. You can do this, I´m right here.” The brunette said but quickly noticed that it wasn´t working. She immediately started to think about other ways she could try in order to calm the other woman down when she had an idea. She carefully took Raelles hand and placed it on the spot on her chest where her heart was.   
Her other hand found its way to the blonde´s cheek, caressing it lovingly.   
“Close your eyes and concentrate on the steady beating of my heart. Nothing else matters right now. Can you do that for me baby?” 

Raelle slowly closed her eyes, pressing them together tightly, while trying to do what Scylla had asked her to do. It took her a while but then she slowly began to calm down. Besides feeling Scylla´s heartbeat it also helped that the brunette had whispered reassuring things into her ear and feeling soft kisses on her forehead were also a huge help for Raelle.   
The panic that had taken over her body not long ago, almost gone. 

Slowly, Raelle pulled back so she could get a good look at Scylla.   
“Are you okay?” the young agent asked carefully.   
This caused Scylla to laugh a little before answering.   
“You are the one who got kidnapped, tortured and fought for her life, once again, and you’re asking me if I´m okay? Rae, you really are something else…”   
“You are the only thing I care about. You are the only thing I could think about while being there and I know that you are probably mad at me, and rightly so, but please answer my question. Are you okay?”   
“I´m okay now that you´re here and safe but you are right. I am really mad at you for doing something stupid and breaking the promise you gave me. I thought you trusted me…” the brunette answered, getting upset the more she talked.   
“I do trust you, Scylla. That is not the reason why I haven´t told you. Please believe me!” the blonde replied.   
“Then why did you not talk to me?” Scylla said angrily.   
“Because it would have put you in danger. I wanted to tell you, a few times, but every time when I was about to tell you, something happened that reminded me to keep you out of it. I couldn´t risk your safety, your life Scylla.” was Raelles answer.   
“Oh, but risking yours is okay?” the brunette said even angrier this time.   
“Scylla…”   
“No, I´m not done. I get that you wanted to keep me safe, I really do but you could have told Tally or Abigail, your friends! They could have helped you but instead you decided to deal with it yourself and bottle it all up. You preferred being a dick to everyone instead of just talking to someone. When are you finally understanding that there are people who love and need you? God damn it Raelle, you are the only thing worth living for in my life. You gave it a purpose again and you make me so freaking happy with your stubborn little head and your beautiful, kind and brave heart…” Scylla´s voice broke a little which caused a little break in her monologue.   
“I could feel how you were slowly dying. I didn´t understood it at first but then I learned more about the Soulmate bond and what it meant that I lost the ability to see colors and that my heart stopped beating less and less every day… Risking the only thing that actually means something to me, after you promised you wouldn´t do that again, was definitely the wrong choice but no matter how angry and disappointed I am with you, the most important thing is that I got you back.” The brunette finished, sitting down in the chair and taking Raelles hand in hers.   
“You were the only reason why I kept fighting. Every time when I lost consciousness, when the pain got too much, my mind automatically brought me to you. Every time you gave me the strength I needed to continue. Without you I would have given up…” Raelle confessed, looking away from her girlfriend. Exhaustion slowly taking over her body again, her headache only getting worse as well. Scylla quickly noticed the change in Raelle and decided to drop the topic for now. They had more than enough time to talk about it once Raelle was feeling better.

Scylla stood up and grabbed a glass of water on the nightstand, handing it Raelle.   
“Here, drink and then try to sleep a little bit. Your body is still battling a mean infection and fever plus all the other stuff. You need more rest. We can continue this conversation later.”   
The blonde took the glass thankfully and quickly emptied it, giving it back to Scylla.   
Raelle fought against the tiredness she was feeling. She was afraid that if she would fall asleep, she would eventually wake up only to find out that it was all just a dream.   
Once again Scylla noticed that something was wrong only by looking in Raelles face. She was about to ask what bordered the girl when it made click in her brain, answering the unspoken question herself.   
The brunette let out a soft sigh.   
“You can go to sleep. I will still be here when you wake up.” The brunette said.   
“I´m not tired, I want to stay awake.” The blond said quickly.   
“Rae, I can see how exhausted you are. You can barely keep your eyes open so stop discussing with me and go to sleep. I promise you that I will be right here, holding your hand when you wake up. I´m not going to leave your side, Baby.” Scylla said softly.  
“You promise?” the blonde asked, needing to hear it one more time.   
“I promise!” the brunette reassured her. 

Shortly after saying this Raelles eyes fell shut and her breathing became even, her face losing every bit of tension.   
Scylla just sat there in complete silence watching the woman she loved sleeping peacefully.   
After about an hour the brunette heard a soft knock on the door. She quickly looked over to Raelle making sure that she was still asleep before standing up and walking over to the door, opening it as quietly as possible, to see who was standing in front of it.   
She was greeted by Tally, which took her by surprise. Usually at this time she was at work. The brunette quickly exited the room, closing the door behind her.   
“Why aren´t you at work? Is something wrong?” Scylla asked immediately.   
“No don´t worry. I just wanted to check in on you and Raelle before I get to work. How is she?” the red head asked.  
“She´s okay. There was a little problem in the middle of the night, but the doctor could help her quickly. Other than that, she is asleep most of the time. She only was conscious twice so far but the first time she was delirious from the high fever and was talking stuff I didn´t quite understood. When she was awake this morning, we talked a little bit before she had to sleep again…” answered the brunette.   
“What´s going on? What is on your mind?” Tally asked directly.  
“This is what I wanted, for three weeks all I could think about was getting her back and now that she is here everything feels so surreal. Almost like it´s just a dream. I have a hard time realizing that this is really real and that I have her back but for her? Tally she is so afraid that her mind is just playing her and that this is all just imagination. She didn´t even wanted to go to sleep earlier, not before I promised her that I would still be there when she woke up… I don´t know what this woman has done to her, but I have a feeling that it was worse than everything we could imagen.” The brunette admitted, worried.   
“Hey, as long as she has you by her side, she will be okay. You are everything she needs. If someone can help her get through this it´s you.” Tally said optimistically.   
“I hope your right, but I should get back inside. Don´t want her to wake up without me being there…”   
“Yeah of course. I have to go anyways but before I do that, I wanted to ask you if I should run by your place and pick some clothes and stuff for you for a couple days? I figured you don´t want to be away from her, but fresh clothes could be nice. What do you say?”   
“That would actually be amazing, Tally. Thank you!” Scylla said grateful before disappearing for a few seconds inside the room. When she came back, she held a set of keys in her hands, handing them over to the red head.   
“Do you need anything special from your place besides the clothes?” the young FBI agent asked.   
“The only thing that would come to my mind right now would be the charger for my phone but that’s all.” The brunette said after thinking a few seconds.   
“That´s alright. If you think of something else just text me and let me know. I will stop there after work before I come back here.” Tally answered.   
“Sounds good. Thank you again Tally but I really should get back inside. She was a little restless when I got my keys.” Replied Scylla apologetically. 

After saying goodbye, Scylla got back to the room and took her place in the chair besides the bed, taking Raelle´s hand in hers again. As soon as she did the blonde seemed to let out a satisfied sigh, her face becoming relaxed again. Scylla couldn´t stop herself from smiling lovingly at her girlfriend. Even with all the ups and downs and all the drama she had to go through since meeting Raelle she truly could say that she didn´t regretted any of it and she never would because every little bit of heartbreak was worth it as long as she had Raelle by her side at the end. 

Hours passed by without Raelle waking up once. She even slept through the check up from her doctor. Her temperature had gone down, and the antibiotics finally seemed to do their job. If it stayed that way the doctor was optimistic that Raelle could leave the intensive care unit soon. Of course, she had to stay a little bit longer at the hospital but so far, he was satisfied with the little progress they already made. After explaining a few more things to Scylla he eventually left them alone again. 

The brunette sighted relieved, closing her eyes and took a deep breath.   
“Your still here beautiful…”   
Her eyes shot open, looking over to the blonde woman, a soft smile on her face.   
“Of course, I promised you that I would be here when you wake up again” Scylla replied still smiling.   
“I wasn´t sure if it was real or if I just dreamed about you again…”   
“Definitely not a dream, baby.” Scylla reassured her. 

Raelle took Scylla´s hand and lifted it up so she could place a soft kiss on it. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, a relived sigh escaped her mouth.   
“Would you do me a favor?” the blonde asked after a while.   
“I can try. What it is?” the brunette replied.   
Raelle slowly moved to the side in order to make space for Scylla.   
“Lay with me, please?”   
This only caused a huge smile to form on Scylla´s face, before she climbed on top of the bed, careful not to hurt Raelle, while cuddling into her side.   
Both women stayed silent for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence while getting lost in their own thoughts. 

“A part of me had made peace with the fact that I wouldn´t get out of there alive. That I would die there. The only reason why I kept fighting was you. I did it just for you…” Raelle confessed, breaking the silence.   
Slowly, Scylla brought distance between them, in order to look at Raelle, tears in her eyes.   
“For weeks I was so afraid that at any moment I could get the message that you were gone, that I had lost you and just thinking about it? It killed something inside of me. Just thinking that you might be gone and I wouldn´t see you again… I can´t even explain what that did to me. You are my world, Raelle...” Scylla answered, tears now streaming down her face.   
Raelle immediately sat up, ignoring the pain in her body, pulling Scylla back into her arms.   
“Please, stop crying Beautiful. You know that I can´t stand seeing you cry.” The blonde begged.   
“You need to stop having secrets. You can´t keep hiding stuff from me. I can´t live like that, always afraid that you might hide something from me again. This” Scylla said while pointing at both of them alternately “can only work if we are both completely honest to each other, Raelle.” Scylla said serious while whipping away her tears.   
“I want this to work more than anything in my life, Scylla. I know that I made a huge mistake, and believe me, I still regret it and I will continue to regret it my whole life but I can assure you that I have learned from my mistake and that I will never do that again. I can´t promise you that I won´t mess up in the future, because I probably will, but I can promise you that I will try my best to make you happy and to show you how much I…” Raelle stopped herself from talking, only now realizing what she was about to say. Although she was sure about her feelings, she wasn´t so sure about saying them for the first time in a hospital.   
“Rae…” Scylla whispered, not sure if her brain was able to form words. 

The blonde gathered all her courage and just thought to herself, screw it this moment is just as good as any other moment would be.   
“I love you, Scylla. I think that I have loved you the moment I first saw you. I will never stop loving you and I know that this might be too soon and that I just completely overwhelmed you, but I needed to finally say it. You don´t have to say anything, it´s absolutely okay if you don´t say anything. Just take the time you need.”   
Raelle was about to go on with her little ramble when Scylla shut her up by pulling her closer and giving her a kiss filled with love. When they separated the brunette smiled happily.   
“I love you too, Raelle.”   
A wide smile appeared on Raelles face, similar to the one Scylla has but it quickly disappeared again.   
“Even after everything I did? After all the pain I caused you?” the blonde asked, voice filled with regret.   
“No matter what you did or what else is going to happen, I love you with all of my heart and that is something that will never change.” Scylla answered. 

Raelle pulled Scylla back in her arms, silent tears running down her face. The blonde could not believe how lucky she was that life granted her a Soulmate like Scylla, but she was sure of one thing, she would never take the woman in her arms for granted. She would do anything in her powers to give Scylla everything she wanted and more because that was what she deserved and so much more. 

Time went by fast without them noticing. Both of them too caught up in their own thoughts while lying in the arms of each other. Raelle was about to fall asleep, as well as Scylla, when a knock at the door startled them both up. They looked at each other for a short moment before Scylla spoke up and let the person in front of the door know that it was okay for them to enter. A few seconds the door opened and Tally, closely followed by Abigail, entered the room. Scylla quickly glanced at the clock, shocked to see how much time had passed. For her it felt like thirty minutes when in reality it were a few hours that had passed.   
Tally was the first one to speak up, which brought Scylla´s focus back to the here and now.   
“Here is the stuff we talked about earlier, Scylla. I hope it´s okay what I packed in there.” Said the red head while placing a bag at the end of the bed before giving Scylla her set of keys.   
“I´m sure it´s perfect. Thank you Tally.” Answered the brunette thankfully with a smile before she focused on Abigail.   
“Hey Abigail” she greeted friendly.   
“Scylla” answered Abigail with a nod towards the brunette. This only caused Scylla to chuckle and shake her head. The last few weeks she got to know Tally and Abigail more and form some sort of friendship with them. With Tally that was an easy task because the red head was a ray of sunshine with a heart of gold. You just had to love her, but Abigail was a little bit more difficult. Abigail always acted like this cold-hearted bitch who only cared about herself and her job but that was so far from the truth. After spending a lot of time together the last few weeks, Scylla managed to see the real Abigail and she was amazing. Abigail was a true friend who cared a lot more then she let other people know. Without them Scylla wouldn´t have survived the last three weeks and she was extremely grateful that she had them.   
When Scylla pulled herself out of her thoughts, she immediately noticed that the focus had shifted and was now on Raelle. Tally was sitting at the end of the bed, small smile on her face.   
“How are you feeling Rae?” the red head asked softly.   
“I´m okay just a little tired” answered Raelle with a little forced smile.   
“Stop with the lies, Collar. You look like shit” interrupted Abigail who was now standing at the end of the bed behind Tally.   
“What do you want to hear, Bellweather?” was Raelles answer.   
“I don’t know… how about the truth? Don´t you think we deserve at least that from you?” was Abigail´s response, who was clearly mad at the blonde.   
“Abigail, please…” Tally wanted to say more but Abigail interrupted her immediately.   
“No, Tally. I´m done being lied to. After everything we deserve the truth and not more bullshit.” 

Before Tally could response Raelle spoke up.   
“She´s right, Tally and she has every right to be mad at me, you do too.” Raelle looked from Tally to Abigail before she spoke up again.   
“I´m really tired all the time and my whole body hurts like hell. Most of the time I have the feeling my head is about to explode. I´m not even sure if this is really real or just another trick my mind is trying to fool me with. I´m sorry I put you through this, both of you. I will pay the price for my decisions and I will try to make it up to you.” Raelle finished her little monologue.   
Tally quickly took Raelles hand and said,   
“It´s okay Raelle. You don´t have to make anything up to me. I´m just glad we got you back.”   
“I´m still pissed but this is a start and I´m also glad that we got you back Shitbird.” Abigail said with a little smirk which Raelle returned.   
“Did you just admit that you were worried about me and that you missed me?” the blonde asked with a teasing smile.   
“Yeah, you wish Shitbird” was Abigail´s response but she couldn´t stop a smile forming on her face. 

The four of them fell into light conversations for a while until Raelle fell asleep. Tally and Abigail took that as their sign that it was time to go. They quickly said their goodbyes and left Scylla alone with a sleeping Raelle. As much as Scylla enjoyed the visit, she was glad that it finally came to an end. After all she hadn´t slept a lot the night before and exhaustion quickly caught up to her. She decided that she would take a quick shower and change her clothes before she would go to sleep.   
As careful as possible, Scylla untangled herself from the blonde and stood up. She grabbed the bag Tally had packed for her and silently made her way over to the bathroom.

When Scylla left the bathroom, she was surprised to see that Raelle was awake. At first, she didn´t think much into it, not until she saw the slight panic in her Soulmates eyes. Without hesitation she let the bag in her hand fall to the floor and quickly made her way over to the bed and got in. She was about to pull Raelle into her arms but as soon as she touched the blonde she jerked back fearfully. Scylla immediately distanced herself a little bit and gave Raelle some space. The moment the brunette looked at Raelle again she noticed that the blonde wasn´t really there. Just by looking in her eyes she could see that Raelle was far away, trapped in her own mind. 

Scylla had to do something. Touching Raelle was clearly not an option, not as long as she was in this state. All the brunette could do was talk to her and hope that talking would be enough to free her from whatever was going on inside of her head.   
“Raelle?” she asked without response, so she tried it again.   
“You have to come back to me Raelle. Look at me please…” Scylla asked softly but once again without success. Panic slowly filled her body but she couldn´t let it consume her so she took a deep breath and spoke up again.   
“Baby, please… you are stronger than this. I need you to look at me.” The brunette waited a few seconds in order to see if Raelle would show some sort of reaction but there still was non so she started talking again.   
“Come back to me Raelle. Come back to the here and now! Baby please…” she said beggingly. Finally, the blonde seemed to react.   
“Yeah, baby just like that. Look at me with those beautiful blue eyes I love so much…” the brunette spoke again.   
This time Raelle fully looked at Scylla, blinking a few times with her eyes and trying to concentrate on the women sitting in front of her. Scylla noticed that Raelles eyes were clearer now and that the fear and panic in them was almost gone. A relieved sight came out of her mouth after noticing that.   
“What´s going on?” Raelle asked confused.   
“I´m not sure. I think you had a nightmare or something like that while I was in the bathroom…” Scylla said carefully.   
“Did I say anything?” Raelle asked quickly.   
“No, not a word why?” the brunette asked confused.   
“No reason, why are you keeping your distance? Did I do something?” the blonde asked nervously.   
“When I came back, I noticed that something was wrong, I wanted to pull you in my arms in order to help you come back but as soon as I touched you, you jerked away from me like you were afraid of me, so I brought some distance between us” Scylla confessed.   
“Well, please stop doing that because the only place I want to be right now is in your arms…” admitted Raelle, eyes filling with tears.   
Within a second, Scylla was at her side and pulled her in her arms, placing a soft kiss on the blonde´s forehead.   
At one point they laid down because Raelle couldn´t sit any longer. They stayed silent for a while but when Scylla finally had the courage to ask the question that was bugging her, she noticed that Raelle had fallen asleep.   
Deciding that she could ask her another time, the brunette placed another soft and loving kiss on her Soulmates forehead before she herself closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall asleep.


End file.
